Full text of "The Most Holy Trinosophia - Comte De St. Germain"

LETTRES SAINTE

TRINOSOPHIE

PAR LE COMTE DE ST.-GERMAIN

TRINOSOPHlA

OF THE COMTE DE ST.-GERMAIN

WITH INTRODUCTORY MATERIAL

AND COMMENTARY BY

MANLY HALL

ILLUSTRATED WITH THE FIGURES

FROM THE ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPT IN THE

BIBLIOTHEQUE DE TROYES

THE PHOENIX PRESS

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNL4

A PARALLEL FRENCH AND

ENGLISH TEXT OF

THE MOST HOLY

Curieux scrutateur de la Nature entiere,

J'ai connu du grand tout le principe et la fin.

J'ai vu I'or en puissance au fond de sa riviere

J'ai saisi sa matiere et surpris son levain.

J'expliquai par quel art I'ame aux flancs d'une mere

Fait sa maison, I'emporte, et comment un pepin

Mis contre un grain de ble, sous I'humide poussiere;

L'un plante et I'autre cep, sont le pain et le vin.

Rien n'etait, Dieu voulant, rien devint quelque chose,

J'en doutais, je cherchai sur quoi I'univers pose.

Rien gardait I'equilibre et servait de soutien.

Enfin avec le poids de I'eloge et du blame

Je pesai I'etemel; il appella mon ame:

Je mourrai, j'adorai, je ne savais plus rien.

Comte de St.Germain

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PART ONE

THE MAN WHO DOES NOT DIE

PART TWO

THE RAREST OF OCCULT MANUSCRIPTS

PART THREE

PARALLEL FRENCH AND ENGLISH TEXT OF

THE MOST HOLY TRINOSOPHIA

PART FOUR

NOTES AND COMMENTARIES

THE MAN WHO

DOES NOT DIE

HE GREAT ILLUMINIST, RosiAcian and

Freemason who termed himself the Comte de St.-

Germain is without question the most baffling

personality of modem history. His name was so nearly

a synonym of mystery that the enigma of his true

identity was as insolvable to his contemporaries as it

has been to later investigators. No one questioned the

Comte 's noble birth or illustrious estate. His whole

personality bore the indelible stamp of gentle breeding.

The grace and dignity that characterized his conduct,

together with his perfect composure in every situation,

attested the innate refinement and culture of one

accustomed to high station.

A London publication makes the following brief

analysis of his ancestry: "Did he in his old age tell the

truth to his protector and enthusiastic admirer. Prince Charles of Hesse Cassel? According to the story

told by his last friend, he was the son of Prince Rakoczy, of Transylvania, and his first wife, a Takely.

He was placed, when an infant, under the protection of the last of the Medici (Gian Gastone). When he

grew up and heard that his two brothers, sons of the Princess Hesse Rheinfels, of Rothenburg, had

received the names of St. Charles and St. Elizabeth, he determined to take the name of their holy

brother, St. Germanus. What was the truth? One thing alone is certain, that he was the protege of the

last Medici." Caesare Cantu, librarian at Milan, also substantiates the

[paragraph continues] Ragoczy hypothesis, adding that St.-Germain was educated in the University at Sienna.

In her excellent monograph. The Comte de St.-Germain, the Secret of Kings, Mrs. Cooper-Oakley lists

the more important names under which this amazing person masqueraded between the years 1710 and

1822. "During this time," she writes, "we have M. de St.-Germain as the Marquis de Montferrat, Comte

Bellamarre or Aymar at Venice, Chevalier Schoening at Pisa, Chevalier Weldon at Milan and Leipzig,

Comte Soltikoff at Genoa and Leghorn, Graf Tzarogy at Schwalback and Triesdorf, Prinz Ragoczy at

Dresden, and Comte de St.-Germain at Paris, The Hague, London, and St. Petersburg." To this list it

may be added that there has been a tendency among mystical writers to connect him with the

mysterious Comte de Gabalais who appeared to the Abbe Villiers and delivered several discourses on

sub-mundane spirits. Nor is it impossible that he is the same as the remarkable Signor Gualdi whose

exploits Hargreave Jennings recounts in his book The Rosicrucians, Their Rites and Mysteries. He is

also suspected of being identical with Count Hompesch the last Grand Master of the Knights of Malta.

In personal appearance, the Comte de St.-Germain has been described as of medium height, well

proportioned in body and of regular and pleasing features. His complexion was somewhat swarthy and

his hair dark, though often powdered. He dressed simply,' usually in black, but his clothes were well

fitting and of the best quality. His eyes possessed a great fascination and those who looked into them

were profoundly influenced. According to Madame de Pompadour, he claimed to possess the secret of

eternal youth, and upon a certain occasion claimed having been personally acquainted with Cleopatra,

and at another time of having "chatted familiarly with the Queen of Sheba"! Had it not been for his

striking personality and apparently supematural powers, the Comte would undoubtedly have been

considered insane, but his transcending genius was so evident that he was merely termed eccentric.

From Souvenirs de Marie Antoinette, by Madame la Comtesse d' Adhemar, we have an excellent

description of the Comte, whom Frederick the Great referred to as "the man who does not die": "It was

in 1743 the rumour spread that a foreigner, enormously rich, judging by the magnificence of his

jewelry, had just arrived at Versailles. Where he came from, no one has ever been able to find out. His

figure was well-knit and graceful, his hands delicate, his feet small, and the shapely legs enhanced by

well-fitting silk stockings. His nether garments, which fitted very closely, suggested a rare perfection of

form. His smile showed magnificent teeth, a pretty

dimple marked his chin, his hair was black, and his glance soft and penetrating. And, oh, what eyes !

Never have I seen their like. He looked about forty or forty-five years old. He was often to be met

within the royal private apartments, where he had unrestricted admission at the beginning of 1768."

The Comte de St.-Germain was recognized as an outstanding scholar and linguist of his day. His

linguistic proficiency verged on the supernatural. He spoke German, English, Italian, Portuguese,

Spanish, French with a Piedmontese accent, Greek, Latin, Sanskrit, Arabic and Chinese with such

fluency that in every land in which he visited he was accepted as a native. "Leamed," writes one

author, "speaking every civilized language admirably, a great musician, an excellent chemist, he played

the part of a prodigy and played it to perfection." Even his most relentless detractors admitted that the

Comte was possessed of ahnost incredible attainments in every department of learning.

Madame de Pompadour extols the genius of St.-Germain in the following words: "A thorough

knowledge of all languages, ancient and modern; a prodigious memory; erudition, of which glimpses

could be caught between the caprices of his conversation, which was always amusing and occasionally

very engaging; an inexhaustible skill in varying the tone and subjects of his converse; in being always

fresh and in infusing the unexpected into the most ttivial discourses made him a superb talker.

Sometimes he recounted anecdotes of the court of the Valois or of princes still more remote, with such

precise accuracy in every detail as almost to create the illusion that he had been an eyewitness to what

he narrated. He had traveled the whole world over and the king lent a willing ear to the narratives of his

voyages over Asia and Africa, and to his tales about the courts of Russia, Turkey and Austria. He

appeared to be more imtimately acquainted with the secrets of each court than the charge d'affaires of

the king."

The Comte was ambidextrous to such a degree that he could write the same article with both hands

simultaneously. When the two pieces of paper were afterwards placed one upon the other with the light

behind them the writing on one sheet exactly covered the writing on the other. He could repeat pages of

print after one reading. To prove that the two lobes of his brain could work independently he wrote a

love letter with his right hand and a set of mystical verses with his left, both at the same time. He also

sang beautifully.

By something akin to telepathy this remarkable person was able to feel when his presence was needed

in some distant city or state

and it has even been recorded of him that he had the disconcerting habit of appearing in his own

apartments and those of his friends without resorting to the conventionality of the door.

He was, by some curious circumstances, a patron of railroads and steamboats. Franz Graeffer, in his

Recollections of Vienna, recounts the following incident in the life of the astonishing Comte: "St.-

Germain then gradually passed into a solemn mood. For a few seconds he became rigid as a statue; his

eyes, which were always expressive beyond words, became dull and colourless. Presently, however, his

whole being became reanimated. He made a movement with his hand as if in signal of departure, then

said 'I am leaving (ich scheide) do not visit me. Once again will you see me. Tomorrow night I am off;

I am much needed in Constantinople, then in England, there to prepare two inventions which you will

have in the next century — trains and steamboats'."

As an historian the Comte possessed an uncanny knowledge of every occurrence of the preceding two

thousand years and in his reminiscences he described in intimate detail events of the previous centuries

in which he had played important roles. "He spoke of scenes at the court of Francis I as if he had seen

them, describing exactly the appearance of the king, imitating his voice, manner and language —

affecting throughout the character of an eyewitness. In like style he edified his audience with pleasant

stories of Louis XlVth, and regaled them with vivid descriptions of places and persons." (See All the

Year Round).

Most of St. -Germain's biographers have noted his peculiar habits with regard to eating. It was diet, he

declared, combined with his marvellous elixir, which constituted the true secret of longevity, and

although invited to the most sumptuous repasts he resolutely refused to eat any food but such as had

been specially prepared for him and according to his recipes. His food consisted mostly of oatmeal,

groats and the white meat of chicken. He is known on rare occasions to have taken a little wine and he

always took the most elaborate precautions against the possibiUty of contracting cold. Frequently

invited to dinner, he devoted the time during which he naturally should have eaten to regaling the other

guests with tales of magic and sorcery, unbelievable adventures in remote places and intimate episodes

from the lives of the great.

In one of his tales concerning vampires, St. -Germain mentioned in an offhand way that he possessed

the wand or staff with which Moses brought water from the rock, adding that it had been presented to

him at Babylon during the reign of Cyrus the Great. The memoir writers admit themselves at a loss as

to how many of the

[paragraph continues] Comte's statements could be believed. Common sense, as then defined, assured them

that most of the accounts must be fashioned out of whole cloth. On the other hand, his information was

of such precise nature and his learning so transcendent in every respect that his words carried the

weight of conviction. Once while relating an anecdote regarding his own experiences at some remote

time and suddenly failing to recollect clearly what he considered a relevant detail, he turned to his valet

and said, "Am I not mistaken, Roger?" The good man instantly replied: "Monsieur le Comte forgets

that I have only been with him for five hundred years. I could not, therefore, have been present at that

occasion. It must have been my predecessor."

The smallest doings of so unusual a person as St. -Germain would, of course, be meticulously noted.

Several interesting and amusing bits of information are available relative to the establishment which he

maintained in Paris. He had two valets de chambre. The first, Roger, already mentioned, and the second

a Parisien engaged for his knowledge of the city and other useful local information. "Besides this, his

household consisted of four lackeys in snuff-colored livery and gold braiding. He hired a carriage at

five hundred francs a month. As he ofl;en changed his coats and waistcoats, he had a rich and expensive

collection of them but nothing approached the mangificence of his buttons, studs, watches, rings,

chains, diamonds, and other precious stones. Of these he possessed a very large value and varied them

every week."

Meeting St.-Germain one day at dinner Baron Gleichen chanced to focus the conversation upon Italy

and had the good fortune to please St.-Germain, who, turning to him remarked: "I have taken a great

fancy to you, and will show you a dozen pictures, the like of which you have not seen in Italy." In the

words of Gleichen: "Actually, he almost kept his word, for the pictures he showed me were all stamped

either with singularity or perfection, which rendered them more interesting than many first-class works.

Above all was a Holy Family by Murillo, equal in beauty to that by Rafaelle at Versailles. But he

showed me other wonders — a large quantity of jewels and colored diamonds of extraordinary size and

perfection. I thought I beheld the treasures of the Wonderful Lamp. Among other gems were an opal of

monstrous size, and a white sapphire (?) as large as an egg, which, by its brilliancy, dimmed all the

stones compared with it. I flatter myself that I am a connoisseur in gems, but I can declare that it was

impossible to perceive any reason for doubting the genuineness of these jewels, the more so that they

were not mounted."

As an art critic St. -Germain could instantly detect the most

cleverly perpetrated forgeries. He did considerable painting himself, achieving an incredible brilliance

of color. He was so successful that Vanloo the French artist begged him to divulge the secret of his

pigments but he refused. He is accredited with having secured astonishing results in the painting of

jewelry by mixing powdered mother-of-pearl with his colors. What occurred to his priceless collection

of paintings and jewels after his death or disappearance is unknown. It is possible that the Comte's

chemical knowledge comprehended the manufacture of luminous paint such as is now used on watch

dials. His skill as a chemist was so profound that he could remove flaws from diamonds and emeralds,

which feat he actually performed at the request of Louis XV in 1757. Stones of comparatively little

value were thus transformed into gems of the first water after remaining for a short time in his

possession. He frequently performed this last experiment, if the statements of his friends can be relied

upon. There is also a popular story to the effect that he placed gems worth thousands of dollars on the

place cards at the banquets he gave.

It was in the court at Versailles that the Comte de St.-Germain was brought face to face with the elderly

Comtesse de Gergy. Upon beholding the celebrated magician, the aged lady stepped back in

amazement and the following well-authenticated conversation took place between the two:

"Fifty years ago," the Comtesse said, "I was ambassadress at Venice and I remember seeing you there

looking just as you do now, only somewhat riper in age perhaps, for you have grown younger since

then."

Bowing low, the Comte answered with dignity: "I have always thought myself happy in being able to

make myself agreeable to the ladies."

Madame de Gergy then continued: "You then called yourself the Marquis Balletti."

The Comte bowed again and replied: "And Comtesse Gergy's memory is still as good as it was fifty

years ago."

The Comtesse smiled. "That I owe to an elixir you gave me at our first meeting. You are really an

extraordinary man."

St.-Germain assumed a grave expression. "Did this Marquis Balletti have a bad reputation?" he asked.

"On the contrary," replied the Comtesse, "he was in very good society."

The Comte shrugged his shoulders expressively saying: "Well,

as no one complains of him, I adopt him willingly as my grandfather."

The Comtesse d' Adhemar was present during the entire conversation and vouches for its accuracy in

every detail.

Madame du Hausset, femme de chambre to Madame de Pompadour, writes at some length of the

astonishing man who often called upon her mistress. She records a conversation which took place

between la Pompadour and St.-Germain:

"It is true, Madame, that I knew Madame de Gergy long ago," the Comte affirmed quietly.

"But, according to that," replied the Marquise, "you must now be more than a hundred years old."

"That is not impossible," enigmatically returned the Comte with a slight smile, "but I admit that it is

more possible that this lady, for whom I have infinite respect, talks nonsense."

It was answers such as this which led Gustave Bord to write of St.-Germain that, "he allows a certain

mystery to hover about him, a mystery which awakens curiosity and sympathy. Being a virtuoso in the

art of misleading he says nothing that is untrue. * * * He has the rare gift of remaining silent and

profiting by it." (See La Franc -Macennerie en France, etc.)

But to retum to Madame du Hausset' s story. "You gave Madame de Gergy," pressed la Pompadour,

"an elixir surprising in its effects; she pretends that tor a long while she appeared to be no older than

twenty-four. Why should you not give some to the king?"

St.-Germain allowed an expression feigning terror to spread over his face, "Ah ! Madame, I should be

mad indeed to take it into my head to give the king an unknown dmg !"

The Comte was on very friendly terms with Louis XV with whom he had long discussions on the

subject of precious stones, their manufacture and purification. Louis was amused and thrilled by turns.

Never before had so extraordinary a person trod the sacred precincts of Versailles. The whole court was

topsy-turvy and miracles were the order of the day. Courtiers of depleted fortunes envisioned the

magical multiplication of their gold and grandames of uncertain age had dreams of youth and favor

restored by the mystery man's fabled elixirs. It is easy to understand how so fascinating a character

could relieve the boredom of a king who had spent his life a martyr to royal fashions and was deprived

by his position of the pleasure of honest work. Then, again, rulers become victims to the fads of the

moment and Louis himself was

dabbling in alchemy and other occult arts. True, the king was only a dilletante whose will was not

strong enough to bind him to any lasting purpose, but St. -Germain appealed to several qualities in the

royal nature. The Comte's fund of knowledge, the skill with, which he assembled his facts to the

amusement and edification of his audiences, the mystery which surrounded his appearances and

disappearances, his consummate skill both as a critic and technician in the arts and sciences, to say

nothing of his jewels and wealth, endeared him to the king. Had Louis but profited by the wisdom and

prophetic wamings of the mysterious Comte, the Reign of Terror might have been averted. St.-Germain

was ever the patron, never the patronized. Louis had found the diplomat in whom there was no guile.

De Pompadour writes, "He enriched the cabinet of the king by his pictures by Valasquez and Murillo,

and he presented to the Marquise the most precious and priceless gems. For this singular man passed

for being fabulously rich and he distributed diamonds and jewels with astonishing UberaUty."

Not the least admirable evidence of the Comte's genius was his penetrating grasp of the political

situation of Europe and the consummate skill with which he parried the thrusts of his diplomatic

adversaries. At all times he bore credentials which gave him entry to the most exclusive circles of

European nobility. During the reign of Peter the Great M. de St.-Germain was in Russia, and between

the years 1737 and 1742 in the court of the Shah of Persia as an honored guest. On the subject of his

wanderings, Una Birch writes: 'The travels of the Comte de Saint-Germain covered a long period of

years and a great range of countries. From Persia to France and fi-om Calcutta to Rome he was known

and respected. Horace Walpole spoke with him in London in 1745; Clive knew him in India in 1756;

Madame d'Adhemar alleges that she met him in Paris in 1789, five years after his supposed death;

while other persons pretend to have held conversations with him in the early nineteenth century. He

was on familiar and intimate terms with the crowned heads of Europe and the honoured friend of many

distinguished persons of all nationalities. He is even mentioned in the memoirs and letters of the day,

and always as a man of mystery. Frederick the Great, Voltaire, Madame de Pompadour, Rousseau,

Chatham, and Walpole, all of whom knew him personally, rivalled each other in curiosity as to his

origin. During the many decades in which he was before the world, however, no one succeeded in

discovering why he appeared as a Jacobite agent in London, as a conspirator in Petersburg, as an

alchemist and connoisseur of pictures in Paris, or as a Russian general at Naples. * * * Now and again

the curtain

which shrouds his actions is drawn aside, and we are permitted to see him fiddling in the music room at

Versailles, gossiping with Horace Walpole in London, sitting in Frederick the Great's library at Berhn,

or conducting illuminist meetings in caverns by the Rhine." (See The Nineteenth Century, January,

1908.)

In the realm of music St.-Germain was equally a master. While at Versailles he gave concerts on the

violin and on at least one occasion during an eventfiil life he conducted a symphony orchestra without a

score. In Paris St.-Germain was the diplomat and the alchemist, in London he was the musician. "He

left a musical record behind him to remind English people of his sojoum in this country. Many of his

compositions were published by Walsh, in Catherine Street, Strand, and his earliest English song. Oh,

wouldst thou, know what sacred charms, came out while he was still on his first visit to London; but on

quitting this city he entrusted certain other settings of words to Walsh, such as Jove, when he saw, and

the arias out of his little optra L'Inconstanm Delusa, both of which compositions were published

during his absence from England. When he returned, in 1760, he gave the world a great many new

songs, followed in 1780 by a set of solos for the violin. He was an industrious and capable artist, and

attracted a great deal of fashionable attention to himself both as composer and executant. "

An old Enghsh newspaper. The London Chronicle, for June, 1760, contains the following anecdote:

"With regard to music, he not only played but composed; and both in high taste. Nay, his very ideas

were accommodated to the art; and in those occurrences which had no relation to music he found

means to express himself in figurative terms deduced from this science. There could not be a more

artful way of showing his attention to the subject. I remember an incident which impressed it strongly

upon my memory. I had the honour to be at an assembly of Lady , who to many other good and great

accomplishments added a taste for music so delicate that she was made a judge in the dispute of

masters. This stranger was to be of the party; and towards evening he came in his usual free and polite

manner, but with more hurry than was customary, and with his fingers stopped in his ears. I can

conceive easily that in most men this would have been a very ungraceful attitude, and I am afraid it

would have been constmed into an ungenteel entrance; but he had a manner that made everything

agreeable. They had been emptying a cartload of stones just at the door, to mend the pavement; he

threw himself into a chair and, when the lady asked what was the matter, he pointed to the place and

said, 'I am stunned with a whole cart-load of discords'."

In his memoirs the Italian adventurer Jacques de Casanova de Seingalt makes numerous references to

his acquaintance with St.-Germain. Casanova grudgingly admits that the Comte was an adept at

magical arts, a skilled Unguist, musician and chemist who won the favor of the ladies of the French

court not only by the general air of mystery surrounding him but by his surpassing skill in preparing

pigments and cosmetics by which he preserved for them at least a shadow of swift departing youth.

Casanova describes a meeting with St.-Germain which occurred "in Belgium under most unusual

circumstances. Having arrived at Toumay, Casanova was surprised to see some grooms walking

spirited horses up and down. He asked to whom the fine animals belonged and was told: "To the Comte

de St.-Germain, the adept, who has been here a month and never goes out. Everybody who passes

through the place wants to see him, but he makes himself visible to no one." This was sufficient to

excite the curiosity of Casanova, who wrote requesting an appointment. He received the following

answer: "The gravity of my occupation compels me to exclude everyone, but in your case I will make

an exception. Come whenever you like and you will be shown in. You need not mention my name nor

your own. I do not ask you to share my repast, for my food is not suitable to others, to you least of all,

if your appetite is what it used to be." At nine o'clock Casanova called and found that the Comte had

grown a beard two inches long. In discussion with Casanova, the Comte explained his presence in

Belgium by stating that Count Cobenzl, the Austrian ambassador at Brussels, desired to establish a hat

factory and that he was taking care of the details. Upon his telling St. -Germain that he was suffering

from an acute disease, the Comte invited Casanova to remain for treatment, saying that he would

prepare fifteen pills which in three days would restore the Italian to perfect health.

Casanova writes: "Then he showed me his magistmm, which he called athoeter. It was a white hquid

contained in a well stopped phial. He told me that this liquid was the universal spirit of Nature and that

if the wax of the stopper was pricked even so sUghtly, the whole of the contents would disappear. I

begged him to make the experiment. He thereupon gave me the phial and the pin and I myself pricked

the wax, when, lo, the phial was empty." Casanova, being somewhat of a rogue himself, doubted all

other men. Therefore, he refused to permit St.-Germain to treat his malady. He could not deny,

however, that St.-Germain was a chemist of extraordinary skill, whose accomplishments were

astonishing if not practical. The adept refused to disclose the purpose for which these chemical

experiments

were intended, maintaining that such information could not be communicated.

Casanova further records an incident in which St.-Germain changed a twelve-sols piece into a pure

gold coin. Being a doubting Thomas, Casanova declared that he felt sure that St.-Germain had

substituted one coin for another. He intimated so to the Comte who replied: "Those who are capable of

entertaining doubts of my work are not worthy to speak to me," and bowed the Italian out. This was the

last time Casanova ever saw St.-Germain.

There is other evidence that the celebrated Comte possessed the alchemical powder by which it is

possible to transmute base metals into gold. He actually performed this feat on at least two occasions,

as attested by the writings of contemporaries. The Marquis de Valbelle, visiting St.-Germain in his

laboratory, found the alchemist busy with his furnaces. He asked the Marquis for a silver six-franc

piece and, covering it with a black substance, exposed it to the heat of a small flame or furnace. M. de

Valbelle saw the coin change color until it turned a bright red. Some minutes after, when it had cooled

a little, the adept took it out of the cooling vessel and returned it to the Marquis. The piece was no

longer of silver but of the purest gold. Transmutation had been complete. The Comtesse d'Adhemar

had possession of this coin until 1786 when it was stolen from her secretary.

One author tells us that, "Saint-Germain always attributed his knowledge of occult chemistry to his

sojoum in Asia. In 1755 he went to the East again for the second time, and writing to Count von

Lamberg he said, 'I am indebted for my knowledge of melting jewels to my second journey to India'."

There are too many authentic cases of metallic transmutations to condemn St.-Germain as a charlatan

for such a feat. The Leopold-Hoffman medal, still in the possession of that family, is the most

outstanding example of the transmutation of metals ever recorded. Two-thirds of this medal was

transformed into gold by the monk Wenzel Seller, leaving the balance silver which was its original

state. In this case fraud was impossible as there was but one copy of the medal extant. The ease with

which we condemn as fraudulent and unreal anything which transcends our understanding has brought

unjustified calumny upon the names and memories of many illustrious persons.

The popular belief that Comte de St.-Germain was merely an adventurer is not supported by even a

shred of evidence. He was never detected in any subterfuge nor did he betray, even to the

slightest degree, the confidence entrusted to him. His great wealth — for he was always amply supplied

with this world's goods — was not extracted from those with whom he came in contact. Every effort to

determine the source and size of his fortune was fruitless. He made use of neither bank nor banker yet

moved in a sphere of unlimited credit, which was neither questioned by others nor abused by himself.

Referring to the attacks upon his character, H. P. Blavatsky wrote in The Theosophist of March, 1 88 1:

"Do charlatans enjoy the confidence and admiration of the cleverest statesmen and nobles of Europe,

for long years, and not even at their deaths show in one thing that they were undeserving? Some

encyclopaedists (see New American Cyclopedia, xiv. 266) say: 'He is supposed to have been employed

during the greater part of his life as a spy at the courts at which he resided.' But upon what evidence is

this supposition based? Has anyone found it in any of the state papers in the secret archives of either of

those courts? Not one word, not one shred of fact to build this base calumny upon, has ever been found.

It is simply a maUcious lie. The treatment this great man, this pupil of Indian and Egyptian hierophants,

this proficient in the secret wisdom of the East, has had irom Westem writers, is a stigma upon human

nature."

Nothing is known concerning the source of the Comte de St.Germain's occult knowledge. Most

certainly he not only intimated his possession of a vast amount of wisdom but he also gave many

examples in support of his claims. When asked once about himself, he replied that his father was the

Secret Doctrine and his mother the Mysteries. St.-Germain was thoroughly conversant with the

principles of Oriental esotericism. He practiced the Eastern system of meditation and concentration,

upon several occasions having been seen seated with his feet crossed and hands folded in the posture of

a Hindu Buddha. He had a retreat in the heart of the Himalayas to which he retired periodically from

the world. On one occasion he declared that he would remain in India for eighty-five years and then

return to the scene of his European labors. At various times he admitted that he was obeying the orders

of a power higher and greater than himself What he did not say was that this superior power was the

Mystery School which had sent him into the world to accomplish a definite mission. The Comte de St-

Germain and Sir Francis Bacon are the two greatest emissaries sent into the world by the Secret

Brotherhood in the last thousand years.

The principles disseminated by the Comte de St. -Germain were undoubtedly Rosicrucian in origin and

permeated with the doctrines

of the Gnostics. The Comte was the moving spirit of Rosicrucianism during the eighteenth century —

possibly the actual head of that order — and is suspected of being the great power behind the French

Revolution. There is also reason to believe that Lord Bulwer-Lytton's famous novel, Zanoni, is actually

concerned with the life and activities of St. -Germain. He is generally regarded as an important figure in

the early activities of the Freemasons. Repeated efforts, however, probably with an ulterior motive,

have been made to discredit his Masonic affiliations. Maags of London are offering for sale a Masonic

minute book in which the signatures of both Comte de St. -Germain and the Marquis de Lafayette

appear. It will yet be estabUshed beyond all doubt that the Comte was both a Mason and a Templar; in

fact, the memoirs of Caghostro contain a direct statement of his own initiation into the order of the

Knights Templars at the hands of St.-Germain. Many of the illustrious personages with whom the

Comte associated were high Masons, and sufficient memoranda have been preserved concerning the

discussions which they held to prove that he was a Chaster of Freemasonic lore.

Madame d'Adhemar, who has preserved so many anecdotes of the life of the "wonder man", copied

from one of St.-Germain's letters the following prophetic verses pertaining to the downfall of the

French Empire:

"The time is fast approaching when imprudent France,

Surrounded by misfortune she might have spared herself.

Will call to mind such hell as Dante painted.

Falling shall we see sceptre, censer, scales.

Towers and escutcheons, even the white flag.

Great streams of blood are flowing in each town;

Sobs only do I hear, and exiles see.

On all sides civil discord loudly roars

And uttering cries, on all sides virtue flees

As from the Assembly votes of death arise.

Great God, who can reply to murderous judges?

And on what brows august I see the swords descend!

Marie Antoinette was much disturbed by the direM nature of the prophecies and questioned Madame

d' Adhemar as to her opinion of their significance. Madame replied, "They are dismaying but certainly

they cannot affect Your Majesty."

Madame d' Adhemar also recounts a dramatic incident. St.-Germain offered to meet the good lady at

the Church of the RecoUets about the hour of the eight o'clock mass. Madame went to the

appointed place in her sedan chair and recorded the following conversation between herself and the

mysterious adept:

St.-Germain: I am Cassandra, prophet of evil . . . Madame, he who sows the wind reaps the

whirlwind ... I can do nothing; my hands are tied by a stronger than myself.

Madame: Will you see the Queen?

St.-Germain: No; she is doomed.

Madame: Doomed to what?

St.-Germain: Death.

Madame: And you — ^you too?

St.-Germain: Yes — like Cazotte — ^Retum to the Palace; tell the Queen to take heed of herself,

that this day will be fatal to her . . .

Madame: But M. de Lafayette . . .

St.-Germain: A balloon inflated with wind. Even now, they are settling what to do with him,

whether he shall be instrument or victim; by noon all will be decided . . . The hour of repose is

past, and the decrees of Providence must be fulfilled.

Madame: What do they want?

St.-Germain: The complete ruin of the Bourbons. They will expel them from all the thrones

they occupy and in less than a century they will retum in all their different branches to the rank

of simple private individuals. France as Kingdom, Republic, Empire, and mixed Govemment

will be tormented, agitated, tom. From the hands of class tyrants she will pass to those who are

ambitious and without merit.

Comte de St. -Germain disappeared from the stage of French mysticism as suddenly and inexphcably as

he had appeared. Nothing is known with positive certainty after that disappearance. It is claimed by

transcendentalists that he retired into the secret order which had sent him into the world for a particular

and peculiar purpose. Having accomplished this mission, he vanished. From the Memoirs de Mon

Temps of Charles, Landgrave of Hesse Cassel, we gain several particulars conceming the last years

before the death or disappearance of the Hungarian adept. Charles was deeply interested in occult and

Masonic mysteries, and a secret society, of which he was the moving spirit, held occasional meetings

upon his estate. The purposes of this organization were similar to, if not identical with, Cagliostro's

Egyptian Rite. In fact, after studying the fragments left by the Landgrave, Cagliostro's contention that

he was initiated into Egyptian Masonry by St. -Germain is proved beyond

a reasonable doubt. The "Wonder Man" attended at least some of these secret meetings and of all

whom he met and knew during life, he confided more in Prince Charles than in any other man. The last

years of St. -Germain's known life were therefore divided between his experimental research work in

alchemy with Charles of Hesse and the Mystery School at Louisenlund, in Schleswig, where

philosophic and political problems were under discussion.

According to popular tradition, it was on the estate of Prince Charles that St.-Germain finally died at a

date given out as 1784. The strange circumstances connected with his passing lead us to suspect that is

was a mock funeral similar to that given the English adept. Lord Bacon. It has been noted that, "Great

uncertainty and vagueness surround his latter days, for no confidence can be reposed in the

announcement of the death of one illuminate by another, for, as is well known, all means to secure the

end were in their code justifiable, and it may have been to the interest of the society that St. -Germain

should have been thought dead. "

H. P. Blavatsky remarks: "Is it not absurd to suppose that if he really died at the time and place

mentioned, he would have been laid in the ground without the pomp and ceremony, the official

supervision, the poUce registration which attend the fiinerals of men of his rank and notoriety? Where

are these data? He passed out of public sight more than a century ago, yet no memoirs contain them. A

man who so lived in the full blaze of publicity could not have vanished, if he really died then and there,

and left no trace behind. Moreover, to this negative we have the alleged positive proof that he was

living several years after 1784. He is said to have had a most important private conference with the

Empress of Russia in 1785 or 1786 and to have appeared to the Princess de Lambelle when she stood

before the tribunal, a few minutes before she was struck down with a billet, and a butcher-boy cut off

her head; and to Jeanne Dubarry, the mistress of Louis XV as she waited on her scaffold at Paris the

stroke of the guillotine in the Days of Terror of 1793."

It should be added that the Comte de Chalons, on his return from an embassy to Venice in 1788, said

that he had conversed with the Comte de St.-Germain in the square at St. Mark's the evening before his

departure. The Comtesse d' Adhemar also saw and talked with him after his presumed decease, and the

Encyclopedia Britannica notes that he is said to have attended a Masonic conference several years after

his death had been reported. In concluding an article on the identity of the inscrutable Comte, Andrew

Lang writes: "Did Saint-Germain really die in the palace of Prince Charles of Hesse about 1780-85?

Did he, on the other hand, escape from the French

prison where Grosley thought he saw him, during the Revolution? Was he known to Lord Lytton about

1860? * * * Is he the mysterious Muscovite adviser of the Dalai Lama? Who knows? He is a will-o'-

the-wisp of the memoir-writers of the eighteenth century." (See Historical Mysteries.)

The true purpose for which St. -Germain labored must remain obscure until the dawn of a new era.

Homer refers to the Golden Chain by which the gods conspired to bind the earth to the pinnacle of

Olympus. In each age there appears some few persons whose words and actions demonstrate clearly

that they are of an order different from the rest of society. Humanity is guided over critical periods in

the development of civilization by mysterious forces such as were personified in the eccentric Comte

de St. -Germain. Until we recognize the reality of the occult forces at work in every-day life, we cannot

grasp the significance of either the man or his work. To the wise, St.-Germain is no wonder — to those

who are limited by belief in the inevitability of the commonplace, he is indeed a magician, defying the

laws of nature and violating the smugness of the pseudo-leamed.

THE RAREST OF

OCCULT

MANUSCRIPTS

F THE UTMOST SIGNIficance to aU students of

Freemasonry and the occult sciences is this unique

manuscript La Tres Sainte Trinosophie. Not only is it

the only known mystical writing of the Comte de St.-

Germain, but it is one of the most extraordinary

documents relating to the Hermetic sciences ever

compiled. Though the libraries of European

Rosicrucians and Cabbalists contain many rare

treasures of ancient philosophical lore, it is extremely

doubtful if any of them include a treatise of greater

value or significance. There is a persistent rumor that

St. -Germain possessed a magnificent library, and that

he prepared a number of manuscripts on the secret

sciences for the use of his disciples. At the time of his

death ... or disappearance . . . these books and papers

vanished, probably into the archives of his society, and

no trustworthy information is now available as to their

The mysterious Comte is known to have possessed at one time a copy of the Vatican manuscript of the

Cabbala, a work of extraordinary profundity setting forth the doctrines of the Luciferians, Lucianiasts

and the Gnostics. The second volume of The Secret Doctrine by H. P. Blavatsky (pp. 582-83 of the

original edition) contains two quotations fi^om a manuscript "supposed to be by the Comte St.-

Germain". The parts of the paragraphs attributed to the Hungarian adept are not clearly indicated, but

as the entire text deals with the significance of numbers, it is reasonable to infer that

his commentaries are mystical interpretations of the numerals 4 and 5 . Both paragraphs are in substance

similar to the Puissance des nombres d'apres Pythagore by Jean Marie Ragon. The Mahatma Koot

Hoomi mentions a "ciphered MS." by St. -Germain which remained with his staunch friend and patron

the benevolent Prince Charles of Hesse-Cassel (See Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett). Comparatively

unimportant references to St. -Germain, and wild speculations concerning his origin and the purpose of

his European activities, are available in abundance, but the most exhaustive search of the work of

eighteenth century memoir writers for information regarding the Masonic and metaphysical doctrines

which he promulgated has proved fixiitless. So far as it has been possible to ascertain, the present

translation and publication of La Tres Sainte Trinosophie affords the first opportunity to possess a work

setting forth ... in the usual veiled and symbolic manner . . . the esoteric doctrines of St.-Germain, and

his associates.

La Tres Sainte Trinosophie is MS. No. 2400 in the French Library at Troyes. The work is of no great

length, consisting of ninety-six leaves written upon one side only. The calligraphy is excellent.

Although somewhat irregular in spelling and accenting, the French is scholarly and dramatic, and the

text is embellished with numerous figures, well drawn and brilliantly colored. In addition to the full-

page drawings there are small symbols at the beginning and end of each of the sections. Throughout the

French text there are scattered letters, words, and phrases in several ancient languages . . There are also

magical symbols, figures resembling Egyptian hieroglyphics, and a few words in characters resembling

cuneiform. At the end of the manuscript are a number of leaves written in arbitrary ciphers, possibly

the code used by St. -Germain's secret society. The work was probably executed in the latter part of the

eighteenth century, though most of the material belongs to a considerably earher period.

As to the history of this remarkable manuscript, too Uttle, unfortunately, is known. The illustrious

Freemasonic martyr, the Comte Allesandro Cagliostro, carried this book amongst others with him on

his ill-fated journey to Rome. After Cagliostro's incarceration in the Castle San Leo, all trace of the

manuscript was temporarily lost. Eventually Cagliostro's literary effects came into the possession of a

general in Napoleon's army, and upon this officer's death La Tres Sainte Trinosophie was bought at a

nominal price by the Bibliotheque de Troyes. In his Musee des Sorciers, Grillot de Givry adds

somewhat to the meager notes concerning the manuscript. He states that the volume was bought at the

sale of Messena's effects; that in the front of the book is a note by a philosopher who signs himself

[paragraph continues] "LB.C. Philotaume" who states that the manuscript belonged to him and is the sole

existing copy of the famous Trinosophie of the Comte de St. -Germain, the original of which the Comte

himself destroyed on one of his joumeys.The note then adds that Cagliostro had owned the volume, but

that the Inquisition had seized it in Rome when he was arrested at the end of 1789. (It should be

remembered that Cagliostro and his wife had visited St.-Germain at a castle in Holstein.) De Givry

sums up the contents of La Tres Sainte Trinosophie as "Cabbalized alchemy" and describes St.-

Germain as "one of the enigmatic personages of the eighteenth century ... an alchemist and man of the

world who passed through the drawing rooms of all Europe and ended by falUng into the dungeons of

the Inquisition at Rome, if the manuscript is to be beheved".

The title of the manuscript. La Tres Sainte Trinosophie, translated into English means "The Most Holy

Trinisophia" or "The Most Holy Three-fold Wisdom". The title itself opens a considerable field of

speculation. Is there any connection between La Tres Sainte Trinosophie and the Masonic brotherhood

of Les Trinosophists which was founded in 1805 by the distinguished Belgian Freemason and mystic

Jean Marie Ragon, already referred to? The knowledge of occultism possessed by Ragon is mentioned

in terms of the highest respect by H. P. Blavatsky who says of him that "for fifty years he studied the

ancient mysteries wherever he could find accounts of them". Is it not possible that Ragon as a young

man either knew St.-Germain or contacted his secret society? Ragon was termed by his contemporaries

"the most leamed Mason of the nineteenth century". In 1818, before the Lodge of Les Trinosophists, he

delivered a course of lectures on ancient and modem initiation which he repeated at the request of that

lodge in 1841. These lectures were published under the title Cours Philosophique et Interpretatifdes

Initiations Anciennes et Modemes. In 1853 Ragon published his most important work Orthodoxie

Magonnique. Ragon died in Paris about 1866 and two years later his unfinished manuscripts were

purchased from his heirs by the Grand Orient of France for one thousand francs. A high Mason told

Madam Blavatsky that Ragon had corresponded for years with two OrientaUsts in Syria and Egypt, one

of whom was a Copt gentleman.

Ragon defined the Lodge of the Trinosophists as "those who study three sciences". Madame Blavatsky

writes: "It is on the occult properties of the three equal lines or sides of the Triangle that Ragon based

his studies and founded the famous Masonic Society of the Trinosophists". Ragon describes the

symbolism of the triangle in substance as follows: The first side or Une represents the

mineral kingdom which is the proper study for Apprentices; the second line represents the vegetable

kingdom which the Companions should leam to understand because in this kingdom generation of

bodies begins; the third line represents the animal kingdom from the exploration of which the Master

Mason must complete his education. It has been said of the Lodge of the Trinosophists that "it was at

one time the most intelligent society of Freemasons ever known. It adhered to the ancient Landmarks

but gave clearer and more satisfactory interpretations to the symbols of Freemasonry than are afforded

in the symbolical Lodges". It practiced five degrees. In the Third, candidates for initiation received a

philosophic and astronomic explanation of the Hiramic Legend.

The Egyptianized interpretation of Freemasonic symbolism which is so evident in the writings of

Ragon and other French Masonic scholars of the same period (such as Court de Gabelin and Alexandre

Lenoir) is also present in the figures and text of the St.-Germain manuscript. In his comments on the

Rite of Misraim, called the Egyptian Rite, Ragon distinguishes 90 degrees of Masonic Mysteries. The

1st to 33rd degrees he terms symbolic; the 34th to 66th degrees, philosophic; the 67th to 77th, mystic;

and the 78th to 90th, Cabbalistic. The Egyptian Freemasonry of Cagliostro may also have been derived

fi'om St.-Germain or fi-om some common body of lUuminists of whom St.-Germain was the moving

spirit. Cagliostro 's memoirs contain a direct statement of his initiation into the Order of Knights

Templars at the hands of St.-Germain. De Luchet gives what a modern writer on Cagliostro calls a

fantastic account of the visit paid by Allesandro and his wife the Comtesse Felicitas to St. -Germain in

Germany, and their subsequent initiation by him into the sect of the Rosicrucians — of which he was the

Grand Master or chief. There is nothing improbable in the assumption that Cagliostro secured La Tres

Sainte Trinosophie from St. -Germain and that the manuscript is in every respect an authentic ritual of

this society.

The word Trinosophie quite properly infers a triple meaning to the contents of the book, in other words

that its meaning should be interpreted with the aid of three keys. From the symbolism it seems that one

of these keys is alchemy, or soul-chemistry; another Essenian Cabbalism; and the third Alexandrian

Hermetism, the mysticism of the later Egyptians. From such fragments of the Rosicrucian lore as now

exists, it is evident that the Brethren of the Rose Cross were especially addicted to these three forms of

the ancient wisdom, and chose the symbols of these schools as the vehicles of their ideas.

The technical task of decoding the hieroglyphics occurring

throughout La Tres Sainte Trinosophie was assigned to Dr. Edward C. Getsinger, an eminent authority

on ancient alphabets and languages, who is now engaged in the decoding of the primitive ciphers in the

Book of Genesis. A few words from his notes will give an idea of the difficulties involved in decoding:

"Archaic writings are usually in one system of letters or characters, but those among the ancients who

were in possession of the sacred mysteries of life and certain secret astronomical cycles never trusted

this knowledge to ordinary writing, but devised secret codes by which they concealed their wisdom

from the unworthy. Each of these communities or brotherhoods of the enhghtened devised its own

code. About 3000 B. C. only the Initiates and their scribes could read and write. At that period the

simpler methods of concealment were in vogue, one of which was to drop certain letters from words in

such a manner that the remaining letters still formed a word which, however, conveyed an entirely

different sense. As ages progressed other systems were invented, until human ingenuity was taxed to

the utmost in an endeavor to conceal and yet perpetuate sacred knowledge.

"In order to decipher ancient writings of a religious or phiUsophic nature, it is first necessary to

discover the code or method of concealment used by the scribe. In all my twenty years of experience as

a reader of archaic writings I have never encountered such ingenious codes and methods of

concealment as are found in this manuscript. In only a few instances are complete phrases written in the

same alphabet; usually two or three forms of writing are employed, with letters written upside down,

reversed, or with the text written backwards. Vowels are often omitted, and at times several letters are

missing with merely dots to indicate their number. Every combination of hieroglyphics seemed

hopeless at the beginning, yet, after hours of alphabetic dissection, one familiar word would appear.

This gave a clue as to the language used, and established a place where word combination might begin,

and then a sentence would gra dually unfold.

"The various texts are written in Chaldean Hebrew, Ionic Greek, Arabic, Syriac, cuneiform, Greek

hieroglyphics, and ideographs. The keynote throughout this material is that of the approach of the age

when the Leg of the Grand Man and the Waterman of the Zodiac shall meet in conjunction at the

equinox and end a grand 400,000-year cycle. This points to a culmination of eons, as mentioned in the

Apocalypse: "Behold! I make a new heaven and a new earth," meaning a series of new cycles and a

new humanity.

"The personage who gathered the material in this manuscript was

indeed one whose spiritual understanding might be envied. He found these various texts in different

parts of Europe, no doubt, and that he had a true knowledge of their import is proved by the fact that he

attempted to conceal some forty fragmentary ancient texts by scattering them within the lines of his

own writing. Yet his own text does not appear to have any connection with these ancient writings. If a

decipherer were to be guided by what this eminent scholar wrote he would never decipher the mystery

concealed within the cryptic words. There is a marvelous spiritual story written by this savant, and a

more wonderful one he interwove within the pattem of his own narrative. The result is a story within a

story. "

In the reprinting of the Freneh text of the Trinosophia, the spelling and punctuation is according to the

original. It has been impossible, however, to reproduce certain peculiarities of the calligraphy. In some

cases the punctuation is obscure, accents are omitted, and dashes of varying lengths are inserted to fill

out lines. The present manuscript is undoubtedly a copy, as Thilotaume" stated. The archaic characters

and the hieroglyphics reveal minor imperfections of formation due to the copyist being unfamiliar with

the alphabets employed.

The considerable extent of the notes and commentaries has made it advisable to place them together at

the end of the work rather than break up the continuity of the text by over-frequent interpolations.

La Tres Sainte Trinosophie is not a manuscript for the tyro. Only deep study and consideration will

unravel the complicated skein of its symbolismAlthough the text matter is treated with the utmost

simplicity, every line is a profound enigma. Careful pemsal of the book, and meditation upon its

contents, will convince the scholar that it has been well designated "the most precious known

manuscript of occultism."

PARALLEL FRENCH AND

ENGLISH TEXT OF THE MOST

HOLY TRINOSOPHIA

THE MOST HOLY

TRINOSOPHIA

SECTION ONE

C'EST dans I'azile des criminels dans les cachots IT is in the retreat of criminals in the dungeons of

de rinquisition, que votre ami trace ces lignes qui

doivent servir a votre instruction. En songeant aux

avantages inapreciables que doit vous procurer cet

ecrit de I'amitie, je sens s'adoucir les horreurs

d'une c^tivite aussi longue que peu meritee . . .

j'ai du plaisir a penser qu'environne de gardes,

charge de fers, un esclave peut encore elever son

ami au dessus des puissants, des monarques qui

gouvement ce lieu d'exil.

Vous allez penetrer mon ctier Ptiiloctiate dans le

sanctuaire des sciences sublimes, ma main va lever

pour vous le voile impenetrable qui derobe aux

yeux du vulguaire, le tabemacle, le sanctuaire ou

I'etemel deposa les secrets de la nature, secrets

qu'il reserve pour quelques etres privilegies, pour

les Elus que sa toute puissance creat pour VOIR

pour planer a sa suite dans I'immensite de sa

Gloire, et detoumer sur I'espece humaine un des

Rayons qui brillent au tour de son Throne d'or.

the Inquisition that your Mend writes these lines

which are to serve for your instmction. At the

thought of the inestimable advantages which this

document of friendship will procure for you, the

horrors of a long and little deserved captivity seem

to be mitigated ... It gives me pleasure to think

that while surrounded by guards and encumbered

by chains, a slave may still be able to raise his

friend above the mighty, the monarch s who rule

this place of exile.

My dear PhUochatus, you are about to penetrate

into the sanctuary of the sublime sciences; my

hand is about to raise for you the impenetrable veil

which hides from the eyes of common men the

tabemacle, the sanctuary wherein the Etemal has

lodged the secrets of nature, kept for a few that are

privileged, the few Elect whom His omnipotence

created that they may SEE, and seeing, may soar

after Him in the vast expanse of His Glory and

deflect upon mankind one of the Rays that shine

round about His golden Throne.

Puisse I'exemple de votre ami etre pour vous une

le9on salutaire et je benirai les longues annees

d'epreuves que les mechans m'ont fait subir.

Deux ecueuils egalement dangereux se

presenteront sans cesse sur vos pas I'un outrageroit

les droits sacres de chaque individu c'est I'Abus du

pouvoir que DIEU vous auroit confie, I'autre

causeroit votre perte c'est L'Indiscretion . . . tous

deux sont nes d'une meme mere, tous deux doivent

I'existence a I'Orgueil, la foiblesse humaine les

allaita, ils sont aveugles, leur mere les conduit, par

son secours ces deux Monstres, vont porter leur

soufle impur jusque dans les coeurs des ELUS du

tres haut malheur a celui qui abuser-oit des dons du

ciel pour servir ses passions la main toute puissante

qui lui soumit les Elemens, le briseroit comme un

foible Roseau une etemite de tour-mens pourrait . .

. a peine expier son crime les Esprits Infemaux

souriroient avec dedain aux pleurs de I'etre dont la

voix mena9ante les fit si souvent trembler au sein

If your fiiend's example proves a salutary lesson

for you, I shall bless the long years of tribulation

which the wicked have made me suffer.

Two stumbhng blocks equally dangerous will

constantly present themselves to you. One of them

would outrage the sacred rights of every

individual. It is Misuse of the power which God

will have entrusted to you; the other, which would

bring min upon you, is Indiscretion. . . Both are

bom of the same mother, both owe their existence

to pride. Human frailty nourishes them; they are

blind; their mother leads them. With her aid these

two Monsters carry their foul breath even into the

hearts of the Lord's Elect. Woe unto him who

misuses the gifts of heaven in order to serve his

passions. The Almighty Hand that made the

elements subject to him, would break him like a

fragile reed. An eternity of torments could hardly

expiate his crime. The Infemal Spirits would smile

with contempt at the tears of the one whose

de leurs abimes de feu.

Ce n'est pas pour vous . . . Philochate que

j'esquisse ce tableau Effrayant, rami de rhumanite

ne deviendra jamais son persecuteur . . . mais

r Indiscretion mon fils ce besoin imperieux

d'inspirer I'etonnement, 1' admiration, voila le

precipice que je redoute pour vous, DIEU laisse

aux hommes le soin de punir le ministre imprudent

qui permet a I'oeuil du Prophane de penetrer dans

le sanctuaire mysterieux; O Philochate que mes

malheurs soient sans cesse presens a votre esprit, &

moi aussi j'ai connu le bonheur, comble des

bienfaits

du ciel . . . entoure d'une puissance telle que

I'entendement humain ne peut la concevoir . . .

commandant aux genies qui dirigent le monde,

heureux du bonheur que je faisais naitre, je goutais

au sein d'une famille adoree la felicite que

I'Etemel accorde a ses enfans cheris . . . un instant

a tout detmit, j'ai parle et tout s'est evanoui

comme un nuage, 6 mon fils ne suivez pas mes

traces. . .qu'un vain desir de briller aux yeux du

monde ne cause pas aussi votre perte . . . pensez a

moi . . . c'est dans un cachot, le corps brise par les

tortures que votre ami vous ecrit; Philocate

reflechissez que la main qui trace ces caracteres

porte I'empreinte des fers qui I'accablent . . . Dieu

m'a puni, mais quai-je fait aux hommes cruels qui

me persecutent? Quel droit ont ils pour interroger

le ministre de I'Etemel? ils me demandent quelles

sont les preuves de ma 'mission, mes temoins sont

des prodiges, mes deffensseurs mes vertus, une vie

intacte, un coeur pur, que dis-je ai-je encore le

droit de me plaindre, j'ai parle le tres haut ma livre

sans force et sans puissance aux fureurs de lavare

fanatisme, le bras qui jadis pouvoit renverser une

armee, peut a peine aujourd'hui soulever les

chaines qui I'appesantisent.

Je megare je dois rendre grace a I'etemelle Justice .

. . le dieu vengeur a pardonne a son enfant

repentant un esprit Aerien a franchit les murs qui

menacing voice had so often made them tremble in

the bosom of their fiery depths.

It is not for you, Philochatus, that I sketch this

dreadful picture. The fiiend of humanity will never

become its persecutor . . . The precipice, my son,

which I fear for you, is Indiscretion, the imperious

craving to inspire astonishment and admiration.

God leaves to men the task of punishing the

impmdent minister who permits the eye of the

profane to look into the mysterious sanctuary. Oh

Philochatus, may my sorrows be ever present in

your mind. I, too, have known happiness, was

showered with the blessings of heaven

and surrounded by power such as the human mind

cannot conceive. Commanding the genii that guide

the world, happy in the happiness that I created, I

enjoyed within the bosom of an adored family the

fehcity which the Eternal accords to His beloved

children. One moment destroyed everything. I

spoke, and it all vanished like a cloud. O my son,

follow not in my steps . . . Let no vain desire to

shine before men bring you, too, to disaster . . .

Think of me, your friend, writing to you from this

dungeon, my body broken by torture! Remember,

Philochatus, that the hand which traces these

characters bears the marks of the chains which

weigh it down. God has punished me, but what

have I done to the cruel men that persecute me?

What right have they to interrogate the minister of

the Eternal? They ask me what are the proofs of

my mission. My witnesses are prodigies, and my

virtues are my defenders — a clean life, a pure

heart. But what am I saying! Have I still the right

to complain? I spoke, and the Lord dehvered me,

deprived of strength and power, to the furies of

greedy fanaticism. The arm which once could

overthrow an army can today hardly lift the chains

that weigh it down.

I wander. I should give thanks to eternal Justice . . .

The avenging God has pardoned His repentant

child. An aerial spirit has entered through the walls

me separent du monde; resplendissant de lumiere,

il s'estpresente devant moi il a fixe le terme de ma

captivite . . . dans deux ans mes malheurs finiront

mes bourreaux en entrant dans mon cachot le

trouveront desert et bientot purifie par les 4

elemens . . . pur comme le

genie du feu je reprendrai le rang glorieux ou la

bonte Divine ma eleve mais combien ce terme est

encore eloigne combien deux annees parois-sent

longues a celui qui les passe dans les souffrances,

dans les humiliations, non contens de me faire

souffrir les supplices les plus horribles mes

persecuteurs ont employe pour me tourmenter des

moyens plus surs plus odieux encore, ils ont

appelle I'infamie sur ma tete, ils ont fait de mon

nom un objet d'opprobre, les enfants des hommes

reculent avec effroi quand le hazard les a fait

approcher des murs de ma prison, ils craignent

qu'une vapeur mortelle ne s'ech^pe par

louverture etroite qui laisse passer comme a regret

un rayon de lumiere dans mon cachot. 6 Philocate

. . . c'est la le coup le plus cruel dont ils pouvoient

m'accabler . . .

J'ignore encore si je pourrai vous faire parvenir cet

ouvrage . . . Je juge des difficultes que j'eprouverai

pour le faire sortir de ce heu de tourmens, par

celles qu'il a fallu vaincre pour le terminer, prive

de tout secours jai moi meme compose les agens

qui metaient necessaires. Le feu de ma lampe

quelques pieces de moimaies et peu de

subsubstances chimiques echappees aux regards

scmtateurs de mes bourreaux ont produit les

couleurs qui ornent ce fruit des loisirs d'un

prisonnier.

Profitez des instructions de votre malheureux ami.

elles sont tellement claires qu'il seroit a craindre

que cet ecrit tombat en dautres mains que les votres

. . . souvenez vous seulement que tout doit vous

servir . . . une ligne mal expliquee un caractere

oublie, vous empecheroient de lever le voile que la

which separate me from the world; he has shown

himself to me resplendent with light and has

determined the duration of my captivity. Within

two years my sufferings will end. My torturers

upon entering my cell will find it empty and, soon

purified

by the four elements, pure as the genius of fire, I

shall resume the glorious station to which Divine

goodness has raised me. But how distant as yet is

this time! How long two years seem to one who

spends them in suffering and humiliation. Not

content with making me undergo the most horrible

agony, my oppressors, to torture me further have

devised still surer, still more revolting means. They

have brought infamy on my head, have made my

name a thing of disgrace. The children of men

recoil in terror when by chance they approach the

walls of my prison; they fear lest some deadly

vapour escape through the narrow slit that

reluctantly admits a ray of light to my cell. That, O

Philochatus, is the crudest of all blows that they

could bear down upon me.

I know not whether I shall be able to get this

document into your hands . . . I judge the difficulty

I shall have in contriving for it a way out of this

place of torture by those I have had in order to

write it. Deprived of all help, I myself have

composed the agents I needed. The flame of my

lamp, some coins, and a few chemical substances

overlooked by the scrutinizing eyes of my

tormentors have yielded the colours which adorn

this Suit of a prisoner's leisure.

Profit by the instmctions of your unhappy fiiend!

They are so clear that danger exists for them to fall

into hands other than yours . . . Remember only

that all of it is to serve you ... an obscure line, an

omitted character would prevent your lifting the

veil which the hand of the Creator has placed over

the Sphinx.

main du createur a pose Sur le Sphinx.

Adieu Philocate ne me plaignez pas la clemence de Adieu, Philochatus ! Do not mourn me. Ttie

I'Etemel egale sa justice, ala premiere assemblee clemency of the Eternal equals His justice. At the

mysterieuse vous reverez votre ami. Je vous salue first mysterious assembly you will see your friend

en Dieu, bientot je donnerai le baiser de paix a mon again. I salute you in the name of God. Soon I shall

fi'ere. give the kiss of peace to my brother.

SECTION TWO

etoit nuit la lune cachee par des nuages sombres

ne jettoit qu'une lueur incertaine sur les blocs de

lave qui environnent la Solfatara, la tete couverte

du voile de Lin, tenant dans mes mains le rameau

d'or je m'avangais sans crainte vers le lieu ou

javois re§u I'ordre de passer la nuit. Errant sur un

sable brulant je le sentois a chaque instant

s'affaisser sous mes pas les nuages

s'ammoncelaient . . . sur ma tete, I'eclair sillonnait

la nue, et donnait une teinte sanglante aux flammes

it WAS night. The moon, veiled by dark clouds,

cast but an uncertain light on the crags of lava that

hemmed in the Solfatara. My head covered with

the Unen veU, holding in my hands the golden

bough, I advanced without fear toward the spot

where I had been ordered to pass the night. I was

groping over hot sand which I felt give way under

my every step. The clouds gathered overhead.

Lightning flashed through the night and gave to the

flames of the volcano a bloodlike appearance. At

du volcan . . . Enfin j' arrive, je trouve un autel de

fer j'y place le rameau mysterieux . . . Je prononce

les mots redoutables ... a I'instant la terre tremble

sous mes pieds le tonnerre eclate ... les

mugissements du Vesuve

• repondent a ces coups redoubles ses feux se

joignent aux feux de la foudre ... les coeurs des

Genie s s'elevent dans les airs et font repeter aux

echos les louanges du createur ... la branche

consacree que j'avais place sur I'autel triangulaire

s'enflame tout a coup une epaisse fiimee

m'environne, je cesse de voir, plonge dans les

tenebres je cms descendre dans un abime, Jignore

combien de temps je restai dans cette

p. 42

situation mais en ouvrant les yeux, je cherchai

vainement les objets qui m'entouraient

quelquetems auparavant; I'autel le Vesuve la

campagne de Naples avoient fiii loin de mes yeux

j'etois dans un vaste souterrain, seul, eloigne du

monde entier . . . pres de moi etait une robe longue,

blanche, son tissu delie me sembla compose de fil

de lin, sur une masse de granit etait posee une

lampe de cuivre au dessus une table noire chargee

de caracteres grecs m'indiquaient la route que je

devois suivre je pris la lampe et apres avoir revetu

la robe je m'engageai dans un chemin etroit dont

les parois etaient revetus de marbre noir ... II avait

trois mille de longueur, mes pas retentissaient

d'une maniere effrayante sous ces voutes

silencieuses enfin je trouvai une porte elle

conduisait a des degres, je les descendis . . . apres

avoir marche longtems je crus appercevoir une

lueur errante devant moi je cachai ma lampe je

fixai mes yeux sur I'objet que j'entre, voyais il se

dissipa s'evanouit comme une ombre.

Sans reproches sur le passe sans crainte sur

I'avenir je continual ma route elle devenait de plus

en plus penible . . . toujours engage dans des

galeries composees de quartiers de pierres noires . .

. je n'osais fixer le terme de mon voyage souterrain

enfin apres une marche immense, jarrivai a une

last I arrived and found an iron altar where I placed

the mysterious bough ... I pronounce the

formidable words . . . instantly the earth trembles

under my feet, thunder peals . . . Vesuvius roars in

answer to the repeated strokes; its fires join the

fires of lightning . . . The choirs of the genii rise

into the air and make the echoes repeat the praises

of the Creator . . . The hallowed bough which I had

placed on the triangular altar suddenly is ablaze. A

thick smoke envelops me. I cease to see. Wrapped

in darkness, I seemed to descend into an abyss. I

know not how long I remained in that situation.

When I opened my eyes, I

vainly looked for the objects which had surrounded

me a little time ago. The altar, Vesuvius, the

country round Naples had vanished far from my

sight. I was in a vast cavern, alone, far away from

the whole world . . . Near by me lay a long, white

robe; its loosely woven tissue seemed to me to be

of linen. On a granite boulder stood a copper lamp

upon a black table covered with Greek words

indicating the way I was to follow. I took the lamp,

and after having put on the robe I entered a narrow

passage the walls of which were covered with

black marble ... It was three miles long and my

steps resounded fearfully under its silent vault. At

last I found a door that opened on a flight of steps

which I descended. After having walked a long

time I seemed to see a wandering light before me. I

hid my lamp and fixed my eyes on the object

which I beheld. It dissipated, vanishing hke a

shadow.

Without reproach of the past, without fear of the

ftiture, I went on. The way became increasingly

difficult . . . always confined within galleries

composed of black stone blocks ... I did not dare

to guess at the length of my underground travel. At

last, after a long, long march I came to a square

chamber. A door in the middle of each of its four

sides opened; they were of different colours, and

place quarree: une porte souvrait au milieu de each door was placed at one of the four cardinal

chacune de ses quatre faces elles etaient de couleur points. I entered through the north door which was

differente et placee chacune a I'un des quatre black; the opposite one was red; the door to the

points cardinaux, j'entrai par celle du septentrion east was blue and the one facing it was of dazzling

elle etoit noire, celle qui me faisoit face etoit rouge, white ... In the middle of this chamber

la porte de I'orient etoit bleue, celle qui lui etait

opposee etait d'une blancheur eclatante

p. 43

. . au centre de cette salle etait une masse quarree,

une etoile de cristal brillait sur son milieu. On

voyait une peinture sur la face septentrionale elle

representait une femme nue jusqu'a la ceinture,

une draperie noire lui tomboit sur les genoux deux

bandes d'argent ornaient son vetement, dans sa

main etait une baguette, elle laposoit sur le front

d'un homme place vis-a-vis d'eUe. une table

terminee par un seul pied etait entre eux deux sur

la table etait une coupe et un fer de lance, Une

flame soudaine s'elevait de terre. et sembloit se

dinger vers Thomme une inscription expUquait le

sujet de cette peinture. Une autre m'indiquait les

moyens que je devois employer pour sortir de cette

saUe.

Je voulus me retirer apres avoir considere le

tableau et I'etoile, jallais entrer dans la porte rouge

quand toumant sur ses gonds avec un bmit

epouvantable elle se referma devant moi, je voulois

tenter la meme epreuve sur celle que decoroit la

couleur de ciel, elle ne se ferma point mais un bruit

soudain me fit detoumer la tete, je vis I'etoUe

sagiter, elle se detache, roule et se plonge

rapidement dans I'ouverture de la porte blanche, je

la suivis aussitot.

was a square mass; on its center shone a crystal

star. On the north side was a painting representing

a woman naked to the waist; a black drapery fell

over her knees and two silver bands adorned her

garment. In her hand was a rod which she placed

against the forehead of a man facing her across a

table which stood on a single support and bore a

cup and a lance-head. A sudden flame rose from

the ground and seemed to turn toward the man. An

inscription explained this picture; another indicated

the means I was to employ in order to leave this

chamber.

After having contemplated the picture and the star

I was about to pass through the red door when,

tuming on its hinges with terrific noise, it closed

before me. I made the same attempt with the door

of sky-blue colour; it did not close but a sudden

noise induced me to turn my head. I saw the star

flicker, rise from its place, revolve, then dart

rapidly through the opening of the white door. I

followed it at once.

p. 44

p. 45

SECTION THREE

UN vent impetueux s'eleva jeus peine a conserver

ma lampe allumee enfin un perron de marbre blanc

s'offrit a ma vue j'y montai par neuf marches

arrive a la demiere j'apper9us une immense

etendue d'eau; des torrens impetueux se faisaient

entendre a ma droite, a gauche une pluie froide

mellee de masses de grele tombait pres de moi je

considerais cette sgene majestueuse quand I'etoile

qui m'avait guide sur le perron et qui se balan§ait

lentement sur ma tete se plongea dans le gouffre je

crus lire les ordres du tres haut je me precipitai au

milieu des vagues une main invisible saisit ma

A STRONG wind arose and I had difficulty in

keeping my lamp alight. At last I saw a white

marble platform to which I mounted by nine steps.

Arrived at the last one I beheld a vast expanse of

water. To my right I heard the impetuous tumbling

of torrents; to my left a cold rain mixed with

masses of hail fell near me. I was contemplating

this majestic scene when the star which had guided

me to the platform and which was slowly swinging

overhead, plunged into the gulf Believing that I

was reading the commands of the Most High, I

threw myself into the midst of the waves. An

lampe et la posa sur le sommet de ma tete. Je

fendis I'onde ecumeuse et m'efforgai de gagner le

point oppose a celui dont j'etois parti, enfin je vis a

rhoiison une foible clarte, je me hatai, jetois au

milieu des eaux et la sueur couvroit mon visage, je

mepuisais en vains efforts la rive que je pouvois a

peine appercevoir sembloit fuir devant moi a

mesure que j'avan9ais, mes forces

m'abandonnaient, je ne craignois pas de mourir,

mais de mourir sans etre illumine . . . je perdis

courage et levant vers la voute mes yeux baignes

de pleurs. Je m'ecriai "Judica judicium

invisible hand seized my lamp and placed it on the

crown of my head. I breasted the foamy wave and

struggled to reach the side opposite the one which I

had left. At last I saw on the horizon a feeble

gleam and hastened forward. Perspiration streamed

down my face and I exhausted myself in vain

efforts. The shore which I could scarcely discem

seemed to recede to the degree 1 advanced. My

strength was ebbing. I feared not to die, but to die

without illumination ... I lost courage, and lifting

to the vault my tear-streaming eyes

p. 46

meum et redime me, propter eloquium tuum

vivifica me," a peine pouvois-je agiter mes

membres fatigues j'enfongais de plus en plus

quand j'appei^us pres de moi une barque, un

homme couvert de riches habits, la conduisoit, je

remarquai que la proue etoit toumee vers la rive

que j'avois quitte, il s'appnocha, une courorme d'or

brillait sur son front vade me cum me dit-il, mecum

principium in terris, instruam te in via hac qua

gradueras. Je lui repondis a I'instant bonum est

sperare in Domino quam considere in principibus .

. . a I'instant la barque et le monarque s'abimerent

dans le fleuve une force nouvelle sembla couler

dans mes veines je parvins a gagner le but de mes

fatigues, je me trouvai sur un rivage seme de sable

vert. Un mur d'argent etoit devant moi deux lames

de marbre rouge etaient incrustees dans son

epaisseur, j'approchai I'une etait charge de

caracteres s acres sur 1' autre etoit gravee une hgne

de lettres grecques entre les deux lames etait un

cercle de fer deux lions, I'un rouge et I'autre noir,

reposaient sur des nuages et semblaient garder une

couronne d'or placee au dessus deux, on voyoit

encore pres du cercle un arc et deux fleches je lus

quelques caracteres ecrits sur les flancs d'un des

Hons, a peine avais-je observe ces differens

emblemes, qu'ils disparurent avec la muraille qui

les contenait.

I cried out: "Judica judicium meum et redime me,

propter eloquium tuum vivifica me." (Judge thou

my judgment and redeem me, by thy eloquence

make me live.) I could hardly move my tired Umbs

and was sinking more and more when near me I

saw a boat. A richly dressed man guided it. I

noticed that the prow was tumed toward the shore

which I had left. He drew near. A golden crown

shone on his forehead. "Vade me cum," said he,

"mecum principium in terris, instruam to in via hac

qua gradueris." (Come with me, with me, the

foremost in the world; I will show thee the way

thou must follow.) 1 instantly answered him:

"Bonum est sperare in Domino quam considere in

principibus. "(li is better to trust in the Lord than to

sit among the mighty.) Whereupon the boat sank

and the monarch with it. Fresh energy seemed to

course through my veins and I gained the goal of

my efforts. I found myself on a shore covered with

green sand. A silver wall was before me inlaid with

two panels of red marble. Approaching I noticed

on one of them sacred script, the other being

engraved with a line of Greek letters; between the

two plates was an iron circle. Two lions, one red

and the other black, rested on clouds and appeared

to guard a golden crown above them. Also near the

circle were to be seen a bow and two arrows. I read

several characters written on the flanks of one of

the lions. 1 had barely observed these different

emblems when they vanished together with the

wall which contained them.

p. 47

SECTION FOUR

A sa place un lac de feu se presenta devant moi, le

soufre et le bitume roulaient leurs flots enflaimnes

je fremis, una voix eclatante m'ordonna de

traverser ces flammes, j'obeis et les flammes

semblerent avoir perdu leur activite longtems je

marchai au milieu de I'incendie, arrive dans un

espace circulaire, je contemplai le pompeux

spectacle dont la bonte du ciel daignait me faire

jouir.

Quarante colonnes de feu decoraient la salle dans

laqu'elle je me trouvois un cote des colonnes

brilloit d'un feu blanc et vif, I'autre sembloit dans

r ombre une flamme noiratre le couvrait; au centre

de ce lieu s'elevait un autel en forme de serpent, un

or verd embel, lissoit son ecaille diapree sur la

qu'elle se reflettaient les flammes qui 1' environ,

naient, ses yeux semblaient des rubis, une

inscription argentee etait posee pres de lui. Une

riche epee etait plantee en terre pres du serpent,

une coupe reposoit sur sa tete . . . J'entendis le

coeur des esprits celestes, une voix me dit le terme

be tes travaux approche, prends le glaive, frappe le

serpent.

IN its place a lake of fire presented itself to my

sight. Sulphur and bitumen rolled in flaming

waves. I trembled. A loud voice commanded me to

pass through the flames. I obeyed, and the flames

seemed tb have lost their power. For a long time I

walked within the conflagration. Arrived at a

circular space I contemplated the gorgeous

spectacle which by the grace of heaven it was

given me to enjoy.

Forty columns of fire ornamented the hall in which

I found myself. One side of the columns shone

with a white and vivid fire, the other side seemed

to be in shadow; a blackish flame covered it. In the

center of this place stood an altar in the form of a

serpent. A greenish gold embellished its diapered

scales in which the surrounding flames were

reflected. Its eyes looked like rubies. A silvery

inscription was placed near it and a rich sword had

been driven into the ground near the serpent, on

whose head rested a cup ... I heard the choir of the

celestial spirits and a voice said to me: "The end of

thy labours draws near. Take the sword and smite

the serpent."

p. 48

p. 49

Je tirai I'epee de son fourreau et m'approchant de

I'autel je pris la coupe d'une main et de I'autre je

portai un coup terrible sur le col du serpent, I'epee

rebondit, le coup raisonna comme si javois frappe

une cloche d'airain, a peine avois-je obei a la voix

que I'autel disparut les colonnes se perdirent dans

I'immensite, le son que j'avois entendu en frappant

I'autel se repeta comme si mille coups etaient

frappes en meme temps, une main me saisit par les

cheveux et m'eleva vers la voute, elle souvrit pour

me Uvrer passage, des vains fantomes se

presenterent devant moi, des Hydres, des Lamies

m'entourerent de serpens, la vue de I'epee que je

tenois a la main ecarta cette foule immonde comme

les premiers rayons du jour dissipent les songes

I drew the sword from its sheath and approaching

the altar I took the cup with one hand and with the

other I struck a terrific blow upon the neck of the

serpent. The sword rebounded and the blow re-

echoed as if I had struck on a brass beU. No sooner

had I obeyed the voice than the altar disappeared

and the columns vanished in boundless space. The

sound which I had heard when striking the altar

repeated itself as if a thousand blows had been

struck at the same time. A hand seized me by the

hair and lifted me toward the vault which opened

to let me through. Shadowy phantoms appeared

before me — Hydras, Lamias and serpents

surrounded me. The sight of the sword in my hand

scattered the foul throng even as the first rays of

freles enfans de la nuit. Apr^s etre monte par une

ligne perpendiculaire a travers les couches qui

composent les parrois du globe. Je revis la lumiere

du Jour.

light dissipate the frail dream-chUdren of the night.

After mounting straight upward through the layers

that composed the walls of the globe, I saw again

the light of day.

p. 50

p. 51

SECTION FIVE

A PEINE etais-je parvenu a la surface de la terre, SCARCELY had I risen to the surface of the earth,

que mon conducteur invisible m'entraina plus when my unseen guide led me still more swiftly,

rapidement encore, la velocite avec laqu', elle nous The velocity with which we sped through space

parcourions les espaces aeriens ne peut etre can be compared with naught but itself In an

comparee a rien qu'a elle meme; en un instant j'eus instant I had lost sight of the plains below. I

perdu de vue les plaines sur les qu'elles je noticed with astonishment that I had emerged from

dominais . . . j' avals observe avec etonnement, que the bowels of the earth far from the country about

j'etais sorti du sein de la terre loin des campagnes Naples. A desert and some triangular masses were

de Naples une plaine deserte quelques masses the only objects I could see. Soon, in spite of the

triangulaires etaient les seuls objets que j 'eusse trials which I had undergone, a new terror assailed

appergu. Bientot malgre les epreuves que j'avois me. The earth seemed to me only a vague cloud. I

subies, une nouvelle terreur vint m'assailUr, la terre had been lifted to a tremendous height. My

ne me semblaitplus qu'un nuage confus, j'etois

eleve a une hauteur immense mon guide invisible

m'abandonna je redescendis pendant un assez long

tems je roulai dans I'espace; deja la terre se

deployait a mes regards troubles . . . je pouvois

calculer combien de minutes se passeraient avant

que j'aille me briser contre un rocher. Bientot

prompt comme la pensee mon conducteur se

precipe apres moi il me reprend m'enleve encore

une fois, il me laisse retomber, enfin il m'eleve

avec lui a une distance incommensurable, je voyois

des globes rouler autour de moi, des terres

p. 52

graviter a mes peids tout a coup le genie qui me

portois me touche les yeux, je perdis le sentiment.

J'ignore combien de temps je passai en cet etat, a

mon reveil je me trouvai couche sur un riche

coussin, des fleurs des aromates, embaumaient I'air

que je respirais . . . Une robe bleu semee d'etoiles

d'or avoit remplace le vetement de lin. vis-a-vis de

moi etait un autel Jaune. un feu pur s'en exallait

sans qu'aucune autre substance que I'autel meme

I'alimentat. Des caracteres noirs etaient graves sur

sa baze. Aupres etoit un flambeau allume qui

brilloit comme le soleil, au dessus etoit un oiseau

dont les pieds etaient noirs, le corps d 'argent; la

tete rouge les ailes noires et Le Col d'or. II s'agitait

sans cesse mais sans faire usage de ses ailes. H ne

pouvoit voler que lorsqu'il se trouvoit au milieu

des flammes. dans son bee etoit une branche verte

son nom est

celui de I'autel est

I'autel, I'oiseau et le flambeau sont le simbole de

tout, rien ne peut etre fait sans eux, eux meme sont

tout ce qui est bon et grand, le flambeau se nomme

invisible guide left me and I descended again. For

quite a long time I rolled through space; already

the earth spread out before my confused vision . . .

I could estimate how many minutes would pass

until I would be crushed on the rocks. But quick as

thought my guide darts down beside me, takes hold

of me, lifts me up again, and again lets me fall.

Finally he raises me with him to an immeasurable

distance. I saw globes revolve around me and

earths gravitate at my feet. Suddenly the genius

who bore me touched my eyes and I swooned. I

know not

how long I remained in this condition . When I

awoke I was lying on a luxurious cushion; the air I

breathed was saturated with the fragrance of

flowers ... A blue robe spangled with golden stars

had replaced my linen garment. A yellow altar

stood opposite me from which a pure flame

ascended having no other substance for its

alimentation than the altar itself Letters in black

were engraved at the base of the altar. A lighted

torch stood beside it, shining like the sun; hovering

above it was a bird with black feet, silvery body, a

red head, black wings and a golden neck. It was in

constant motion without however using its wings.

It could only fly when in the midst of the flames.

In its beak was a green branch; its name is

the name of the altar is

Altar, bird and torch are the symbol of all things.

Nothing can be done without them. They

themselves are all that is good and great. The name

of the torch is

Quatre inscriptions entouraient ces differents Four inscriptions surrounded these different

emblemes. emblems.

p. 53

SECTION SIX

JE me detoumai et j'appergus un palais immense,

sa baze reposoit sur des nuages, des marbres

composaient sa masse; sa forme etoit triangulaire

quatre etages de colonnes s'elevaient les uns sur

les autres. Une boule doree terminoit cet edifice le

premier rang de colonne etoit blanc, le second noir,

le troisieme verd le demier etoit d'un rouge

brUlant, je voulus apres avoir admire cet ouvrage

des artistes etemels retoumer au lieu ovi etoient

I'autel, rOiseau et le flambeau, je voulois encore

les observer ils etoient dispams, je les cherchois

des yeux quand les portes du palais s'ouvrirent, un

vieillard venerable en sortit, sa robe etoit

semblable a la mienne excepte qu'un soleil dore

brilloit sur sa poitrine sa main droite tenoit une

branche verte, 1' autre soutenoit un encensoir, une

chaine de bois etoit attachee a son col une thiare

pointue comme celle de Zoroastre couvroit sa tete

blanchie il s'approcha de moi; le sourire de la

bienveiUance erroit sur ses levres. Adore Dieu me

dit-U en langue Persane, c'est lui qui ta soutenu

dans les epreuves son esprit

I TURNED aside and noticed an immense palace

the base of which rested on clouds. Its mass was

composed of marble and its form was triangular.

Four tiers of columns were raised one above the

other. A golden ball topped the edifice. The first

tier of columns was white, the second black, the

third green and the last one a brilliant red. I

intended, after having admired this work of

immortal artists, to return to the place of the altar,

the bird and the torch; I desired to study them

further. They had disappeared and with my eyes I

was searching for them when the doors of the

palace opened. A venerable old man came forth

clad in a robe like mine, except that a golden sun

shone on his breast. His right hand held a green

branch, the other upheld a censer. A wooden chain

was about his neck and a pointed tiara like that of

Zoroaster covered his white head. He came toward

me, a benevolent smile on his lips. "Adore God"

said he to me in Persian. "It is He who sustained

thee in thy trials; His spirit was with thee. My son,

thou hast let

p. 54

et I'autel and the altar

tu serois serois devenu a la fois Autel, Oiseau et

Flambeau. H faut a present pour parvenir au lieu le

plus secret du Palais des sciences sublimes que tu

en parcours tous les detours, viens . . . Je dois avant

tout te presenter a mes freres. n me prit la main et

m'introduisit dans une vaste salle.

Des yeux vulgaires ne peuvent concevoir la forme

et la richesse des ome-mens qui I'embellissoient

trois cent soixante colonnes I'entouraient de toutes

parts, au plafond etoit une croix rouge, blanche,

bleue et noire, un anneau d'or la soutenoit. Au

centre de la salle etoit un autel triangulaire

compose des quatre elemens sur ses trois points

etaient poses I'oiseau, I'autel et le flambeau. lis ont

change de nom me dit mon guide, ici on nomme

I'oiseau

Thou wouldst have become altar, bird and torch at

one and the same time. Now, in order to arrive at

the most secret place of the Palace of sublime

sciences, it will be necessary for thee to pass

through all by-ways. Come ... I must first of all

present thee to my brothers." He took me by the

hand and led me into a vast haU.

The eyes of the vulgar cannot conceive the form

and richness of the omaments which embellished

it. Three hundred and sixty columns enclosed it on

all sides. Suspended from a golden ring in the

ceiling was a cross of red, white, blue and black. In

the center of the hall was a triangular altar

composed of the four elements; on its three points

were placed the bird, the altar and the torch. "Their

names are now changed," said my guide. Here the

bird is called

I'autel

et le flambeau

the altar

and the torch

la salle est appellee

The hall is called

\3Cis

I'autel triangulaire

and the triangular altar

p. 56

Autour de I'autel etaient places quatre-vingt-un

Thrones; on montait a chacun par neuf marches de

hauteur inegale; des housses rouges les couvraient.

Pendant que j'examinois les thrones, le son d'une

trompette se fit entendre: a ce bruit les portes de la

salle

Around the altar were placed eighty-one thrones, to

each of which one mounted by nine steps of

unequal height, the treads being covered with red

carpets.

While I was examining the thrones, a trumpet

sounded whereupon the doors of the hall

toumerent sur leurs gonds pour laisser passer soix

antedixneuf personnes, toutes vetues comme

mon conducteur. EUes s'approcherentlentementet

s'assirent sur les thrones, mon guide se tint de bout

aupres de moi. Un viellard distingue de ses freres

par un manteau de pourpre dont les bords etaient

chargee de caracteres en broderies, se leva et mon

guide prenant la parole en langue sacree Voila dit-

il un de nos enfans que Dieu veut rendre aussi

grand que ses peres. Que la volante du seigneur

s'accomplisse repondit le vieillard. Mon fils

ajoutatil en s'adressant a moi votre temps

d'epreuves physiques est accompli ... II vous reste

a faire de grands voyage, desormais vous vous

appellerez

avant de parcourir cet edifice, huit de mes ireres et

moi allons vous faire chacun un present il vint a

moi et me donna avec le baiser de paix. un cubed e

terre grise on le nomme

swung on theirhinges to let pass seventy-nine

persons, all attired Uke my guide. Slowly they

came near and seated themselves on the thrones

while my guide stood beside me. An old man,

distinguished from his brothers by a purple mantle

the hem of which was covered with embroidered

characters, arose, and my guide, addressing them

in the sacred tongue, said: "Behold one of our

children whom it is the will of God to make as

great as his fathers." "May the will of the Lord be

done," responded the old man, and tuming to me

he added: "My son, the time of thy physical trials

is now ended . . . There remain long journeys for

thee to undertake. Henceforth thy name shall be

Before thou visit this edifice, each of my eight

brothers and myself will present thee with a gift."

He walked up to me and with the kiss of peace

gave me a cube of grey earth called

the second gave me three cyhnders of black stone

le second trois cylindres de pierre noire appelee

p. 57

le troisieme un mor9eau de cristal airondi, on

I'appelle

le quatrieme une aigrette de plumes bleues

nommee

le cinquieme y joignit un vase d 'argent, qui porte

le nom de

le sixieme une grappe de raisin connue parmi les

sages sous le nom de

le septieme me presenta une figure d'oiseau

semblable pour la forme a

mais il n'avoit pas ses brillantes couleurs, il etoit

d'argent, U porte le meme nom me dit-il, c'est a toi

a lui donner les memes vertus. le huitieme me

donna un petit autel ressemblant aussi a I'autel

called

the third a small piece of rounded crystal called

the fourth a crest of blue plumes named

the fifth added a silver vase which carries the name

of

^3

the sixth gave me a cluster of grapes known by the

sages under the name of

the seventh presented me with the figure of a bird

similar in its form to

but it had not its brilliant hues; it was of silver. "It

has the same name," he said to me; "it is for thee to

give it the same virtues." The eighth gave me a

small altar, resembling the altar

enfin mon conducteur me mit dans main un

flambeau compose comme

de particules briUantes mais il etoit eteint. c'est a

toi ajoutatil comme ceux qui I'avoient precede a lui

donner les memes vertus, reflechis sur ces dons,

me dit ensuite le chef des sages tous tendent

egalement a la perfection, mais nul n'est parfait par

lui meme, c'est de leur melange que doit sortir

I'ouvrage divin. Sache encore que tous sont nuls si

tu ne les emploie suivant I'ordre dans le qu'el ils

font

Finally my guide placed in my hand a torch

composed, like

of brilliant particles; however, it was not lighted.

"It is for thee," he added, "like those that have

preceded it to give it the same virtues." "Reflect on

these gifts" then said the chief sage. "They all lead

equally to perfection, but none of them is perfect in

itself It is from their admixture that the divine

product must come. Know also that all of them are

null if thou employ them not in the order in which

thou hast received them. The second, which serves

for the use of the first, remains merely

p. 58

ete donne le second qui sert a employer le premier

ne seroit qu'une matiere brute sans chaleur, sans

utilite sans le secours de celui qui vient apres lui,

garde soigneusement les presens que tu as re9u et

commence les voyages apres avoir bu dans la

coupe de vie. II me presenta dans une coupe de

cristal une liqueur brillante et safranee son gout

etoit delicieux un parfum exquis s'en exalloit. Je

voulus rendre la coupe apres avoir trempe mes

levres dans la liqueur . . . acheve me dit le vieillard,

ce breuvage sera la seule nouriture que tu prendras

pendant le temps de tes voyages. J'obeis et je

sentis un feu divin parcourir tous les fibres de mon

corps, j'etois plus fort, plus courageux, mes

facultes meme intellectuelles, semblaient etre

doublees.

Je me hatai de donner le salut des sages a I'auguste

assemblee que j'allais quitter, et par les ordres de

mon conducteur, je m'enfongai dans une longue

galerie qui se trouvoit a ma droite.

crude matter without warmth and without

usefiibiess unless in its turn it is aided by that

which comes after it. Guard carefully the gifts thou

hast received and set out upon thy journeys after

thou hast drunk from the cup of hfe. " Hereupon he

handed me in a crystal cup a shining liquor of

saffron hue; its taste was delicious and it emitted

an exquisite aroma. I was about to hand the cup

back to him after moistening my lips in the liquor,

when the old man said: "Drink it all; it will be thy

only nourishment during thy joumeys." I obeyed

and felt a divine fire course through all the fibers

of my body. I was stronger, braver; even my

intellectual powers seemed doubled.

I hastened to give the greeting of the wise men to

the august assembly I was about to leave, and at

my guide's command I entered a long gallery on

my right hand.

p. 59

SECTION SEVEN

A L'entree de la galerie dans la qu'elle je me

trouvois etoit posee une cuve d'acier, a mon

approche elle se remplit d'une eau pure comme le

cristal, qui vint s'epurer sur un sable blanc et fin. la

cuve etoit ovale; Elle etoit soutenue sur trois pieds

d'airain. une lame noire incrustee sur le cote qui

regardoit la porte renfermoit quelques caracteres.

pres de la cuve etoit un voile de lin. au dessus

d'elle deux colonnes de marbre vert supportoit une

plaque de marbre arrondie. On y voyoit entouree

de deux inscriptions la figure du cachet sacre. . .

formee d'une croix de quatre coleurs, attachee a

une traverse d'or qui soutient i deux autres cercles

concentriques le plus grand, noir. 1' autre rouge, a

I'une des colonnes etoit attachee une hache

d'argent dont la hampe etoit bleue elle s'appelle

apres avoir lu les inscriptions, je m'approchai de la

cuve et je my lavai, en commengant par les mains,

je finis par m'y plonger, tout en tier. J'y restai trois

jours, en sortant de I'eau je m'appergus qu'elle

avoit

AT the entrance of this gallery stood an oval steel

vessel which upon my approach filled with crystal-

clear water, purified by fine white sand. The vessel

rested on three brass feet. A black panel had

engraved on it several characters on the side facing

the door. Near the vessel was a linen veil and

above the vessel two green marble columns

supported a round marble placque. One saw there,

surrounded by two inscriptions, the figure of the

sacred seal formed of a cross in four colours,

attached to a golden crosspiece which upheld 2 two

other concentric circles, the larger one being black,

the other red. To one of the columns was attached a

silver ax with a blue handle; it is called

After reading the inscriptions I went up to the

vessel and washed, first my hands, but finished by

plunging in bodily. I stayed there three days, and

on coming out of the water I saw that it had lost its

transparency. Its sand had become grayish and

mst-coloured particles stirred in

p. 60

p. 61

perdu sa transparence, son sable etoit devenu

grisatre, des particules couleur de rouille

s'agittaient dans le fluide. Je voulus me secher

avec le secours du voile de lin, mais de nouvelles

gouttes d'eau rempla9aient sans cesse celles dont le

Unge s'imbibait je renon9ai a me secher avec le

voile et me tenant a I'ombre j 'y restai immobile

pendant six jours entiers; au bout de ce temps la

source de ces eaux fut tarie je me trouvai sec et

plus leger quoique mes forces me pamssent

augmentees. apres m'etre promene quelque temps

je retoumai a la Cuve, I'eau quelle contenoit etoit

the fluid. I tried to dry myself with the linen veil

but fresh drops of water kept taking the place of

those the linen absorbed. I gave up trying to dry

myself with the veil and, keeping in the shade, I

remained there motionless for six whole days. At

the end of this time the source of these waters was

exhausted. I found that I was dry and lighter

though my strength seemed to be increased. After

walking about for a little while I returned to the

vessel. The water which had been in it was gone.

In its place was a reddish liquid; the sand was gray

and metallic. I again bathed in it, being careful

epuisee, a sa place etoit une liqueur rougeatre, le

sable etoit gris et metaUique. Je m'y baignai de

nouveau, en observant cependant de n'y rester que

quelques instans, en me retirant je vis que j'avois

absorbe une partie du liquide. cette fois je ne tentai

pas de tarir avec le linge, la liqueur dont j'etois

impregne, elle I'auroit detmit a I'instant; tant eUe

etoit forte et cor, rosive. Je fut a 1' autre bout de la

gallerie m'etendre sur un lit de sable chaud, j'y

passai sept jours au bout de ce temps je revins a la

cuve I'eau etoit semblable ala premiere, je m'y

replongeai et en ressortis apres m'etre lave avec

soin. cette fois je parvins sans peine a m'essuyer,

enfin apres m'etre purifie selon les instmctions que

j'avois re9u, je me disposal a sortir de cette galerie

apres y etre reste seize jours.

however to remain there only a few moments.

When stepping out of it I noticed that I had

absorbed part of the liquid. This time I did not try

to dry myself with the cloth, for the liquor with

which I was saturated was so strong and corrosive

that it would have instantly destroyed the fabric. I

found myself at the other end of the gallery

stretched out on a bed of warm sand where I spent

seven days. After this time I returned to the vessel.

The water was as it had first appeared. Once more I

plunged into it and after having washed myself

careftilly, came out. This time I had no difficulty in

drying myself. Finally, after having purified myself

according to the mstmctions I had received, I

prepared to leave this gallery in which I had spent

sixteen days.

Footnotes

59:1 deux cercles qu 'entourent.

59:2 two circles which surround

p. 62

p. 63

SECTION EIGHT

JE quittai la galerie par une porte basse et etroite et

j'entrai dans un appartement circulaire . . . ses

lambris etoient de bois de frene et de sandal, au

fond de I'appartement sur un socle compose de

seps de vigne reposait une masse de sel blanc et

brillant, au dessus etoit un tableau il representor un

Hon blanc couronne. et une grappe de raisin, ils

etoient poses sur un meme plateau, que la fumee

d'un brasier allume elevoit dans les airs. A ma

droite et a ma gauche souvraient deux portes I'une

I LEFT the gallery by a low and narrow door and

entered a circular apartment the panelling of which

was made of ash and sandal wood. At the further

end of the apartment on a pedestal composed of the

trunk of a vine lay a mass of white and shining salt.

Above was a picture showing a crowned white Hon

and a cluster of grapes; both rested on a salver

sustained in the air by the smoke of a lighted

brazier. To my right and left two doors opened, one

giving unto an arid plain. A dry and scorching

donnoit sur une plaine aride. Un vent sec et brulant

y regnoit en tout temps. I'autre porte souvroit sur

un lac a I'extremite du quel on appercevoit une

fa9ade de marbre noir.

Je m'approchai pres de I'autel etpris dans mes

mains du sel blanc et brillant. que les sages

appellent

Je m'en frottai tout le corps. Je m'en penetrai et

apres avoir lu les hierogliphes qui accompagnoient

le tableau je m'appretai a quitter cette salle. mon

premier dessein etoit de sortir Dar la porte aui

donnoit

wind blew over it continually. The other door

opened on a lake at the extreme end of which a

black marble fa9ade could be seen.

I approached the altar and took into my hands

some of the white and shining salt which the sages

call

and mbbed my entire body with it. I impregnated

myself with it, and after having read the

hieroglyphics accompanying the picture I prepared

to leave this hall. My first intention was to leave

p. 64

sur la plaine, mais une vapeur brulante s'en

exalloit, je preferai le chemin oppose, j'avois la

Uberte de choisir, avec la condition cependant de

ne pas quitter celui que j'aurois pris . . . Je me

decidai a passer le lac, ses eaux etoient sombres et

dormantes, j'appercevois bien a une certaine

distance un pont nomme

mais je preferai traverser le lac a la longue route

que j'aurois ete oblige de faire pour atteindre le

pont, en suivant les sinuosites d'un rivage seme de

rochers. j'entrai dans I'eau, elle etoit epaisse

comme du ciment, je m'apper^us qu'il m'etoit

inutile de nager, par tout mes pieds rencontrerent le

sol. Je marchai dans le lac pendant treize jours.

Eniin je parvins a I'autre bord.

by the door opening upon the plain, but there

issued therefrom a hot vapor and I preferred the

opposite path. I had the freedom of choice with the

condition, however, not to leave the one once

chosen. . . I decided to cross the lake; its waters

were sombre and sleeping. At a certain distance I

clearly noticed a bridge called

To reach it I would have been obliged to follow the

windings of a shore covered with rocks, and I

preferred to cross the lake. I entered the water

which was as thick as cement. I noticed that it was

useless for me to swim since my feet touched

bottom everywhere. I walked in the lake for

thirteen days. At last I came to the other shore.

p. 65

SECTION NINE

LA terre etoit d'une couleur foncee comme I'eau

dans la qu'elle j'avois voyage, une pente insensible

me conduisit au pied de I'edifice que j'avois

apper9u de loin, sa forme etoit un quarre long, sur

le fronton etoient graves quelques caracteres,

semblables a ceux qu'employaient les Pretres des

anciens Persans. I'edifice entier etoit batide Basalte

noir depoU: les portes etoient de bois de cipres;

EUes s'ouvrirent pour me laisser passer; un vent

chaud et humide s'elevant tout a coup me poussa

rapidement jusqu'au milieu de la salle et en meme

temps referma les portes sur moi . . . Je me trouvai

dans I'obscurite, peu a peu mes yeux

s'accoutumerent au peu de lumiere qui regnoit

dans cette enceinte, et je pus distinguer les objets

qui m'entouraient. la voute, les parois, le plancher

de la salle etoient noirs comme I'ebene, deux

tableaux peints sur la muraille fixerent mon

attention I'un representoit un cheval tel que les

poetes nous peignent celui qui causa la mine de

Troie. De ses flancs entreuverts sortoit un cadavre

humain. L'autre peinture offroit I'image d'un

homme mort depuis longtems, les vils insectes

enfans de la putrefaction.

THE earth was as dark as the water through which

I had come. A hardly perceptible slope led me to

the base of the building which I had seen from afar.

On its long square front several characters were

engraved like those used by the priests of ancient

Persia. The entire building was made of rough

black basalt; the doors, of cypress wood, opened to

let me pass. A warm, moist wind arose suddenly

and pushed me rapidly to the middle of the

chamber at the same time closing the doors upon

me ... I was in darkness, but gradually my eyes

grew accustomed to the meager Ught which

reigned in this enclosure and I was able to discern

the surrounding objects. The vaulting, the walls

and the floor of the chamber were as black as

ebony. Two mural paintings arrested my attention;

one represented a horse such as our poets describe

as having caused the downfall of Troy. From its

gaping flanks a human corpse protruded. The other

image showed a man long dead. Vile insects bred

by putrefaction swarmed over his face and

devoured the substance which had given them

birth. One of the arms of the dead man, stripped of

its flesh, already showed

p. 66

p. 67

s'agittaient sur son visage et devoraient la

substance qui les avoit fait naitre, un des bras

dechames de la figure morte, loissoit deja

aper§evoir les os; place pres du cadavre, un homme

vetu de rouge s'effer§oit de le relever, une etoille

brUloit . . . sur son front, des brodequins noirs

couvroient ses jambes, trois lames noires chargees

de caracteres d'argent etoient posees au dessus,

entre et au dessous des tableaux. Je les lus, et

m'occupai a parcourir la salle oil je devois passer

neuf jours.

the bones. A man, dressed in red, standing by the

corpse, endeavoured to lift it. A star shone on his

forehead; his legs were enclosed in black buskins.

Above, between and below the picture were three

black panels bearing silver characters. I read them

and then occupied the time by making the rounds

of the hall where I was to spend nine days.

In a dark corner I found a pile of black earth which

was fat and saturated with animal particles. I was

about to take some of it when a thundering voice,

like the sound of a trumpet, forbade me to do so.

Dans un coin plus obscur se trouvoit un mon9eau

de terre noire, grasse et saturee de particules

animales, je voulus en prendre, une voix eclatante

comme le son d'une trompette me le defendit, il

n'ya que quatre vingt sept ans que cette terre est

posee dans cette salle me dit-elle . . . quand treize

autres annees seront ecoulees, toi et les autres

enfans de Dieu pourront en user. La voix se tut

mais les demiers sons vibrerent long temps dans ce

temple du silence et de la mort. Apres y etre reste

le temps prescrit je sortis par la porte opposee a

celle par la qu'elle j'etois entre. Je revis la lumiere,

mais elle n'etoit pas assez vive autour de la salle

noire, pour fatiguer mes yeux habitues a

I'obscurite.

Je vis avec etonnement qu'il me falboit pour

joindre les autres edifices traverser un lac plus

large que le premier, je marchai dans I'eau pendant

dix huit jours. Je me souvins que dans la premiere

traversee les eaux du lac devenoient plus noires et

plus epaisses a mesure que j avangois, au contraire

dans celle ici plus j'approchais de la rive, et plus

les eaux s'eclaircissoient. Ma robe qui dans le

palais etoit devenue

saying: "This earth has lain in this hall only eighty-

seven years; when thirteen more years have

elapsed, thou and the other children of God may

use it." The voice fell silent, but its last ringing

sounds continued to vibrate a long time in that

temple of silence and death. After remaining in it

the time prescribed, I departed by the door opposite

to the one through which I had entered. I again saw

the Ught, but it was not so strong around the black

hall as to tire my eyes habituated to darkness.

I saw with surprise that in order to reach the other

buildings I should have to cross a wider lake than

the first one. For eighteen days I walked in the

water. I recalled that when crossing the first lake

its waters became darker and thicker as I advanced.

The waters of this lake, on the contrary, became

ever clearer the closer I approached the shore. My

robe, which had in the palace become as black as

the walls, seemed

p. 68

noire comme les murailles me parut alors d'une

teinte grisatre, elle reprit peu a peu ses couleurs,

cependant elle n'etoit pas entierement bleue, mais

approchant d'un beau verd.

Apres dix huit jours je montai sur le rivage par un

perron de marbre blanc; la salle est nommee

le premier lac

to me to be of a grayish hue; gradually it resumed

its colours; however, it did not become entirely

blue but was nearer to a beautifiil green.

After eighteen days I ascended the embankment by

means of a white marble platform. The name of the

hall is

the first lake

le second the second

nnnM ins nnn^

p. 69

SECTION TEN

AQUEL que distance du rivage un palais

somptueux elevoit dans les airs ses colonnes

d'albatre, ses differentes parties etoient jointes par

des portiques couleur de feu, tous I'edifice etoit

d'une architecture legere et aerienne. Je

m'approchai des portes, sur le fronton etait

represente un papillon. Les portes etoient ouvertes.

J'entrai, le palais entier ne formait qu'une seule

saUe . . . trois rangs de colonnes I'entouraient,

chaque rang etait compose de vingt sept colonnes

d'albatre. Au centre de I'edifice etait une figure

d'homme, elle sortait d'un tombeau sa main

appuyee sur une lance frappait le pierre qui la

renfermait autrefois, une draperie verte, ceignit ses

reins I'or brillait au bas de son vetement sur sa

poitrine etait une table quarree, sur laquelle je

distinguai quelques lettres. Au dessus de la figure

etait suspendue une couronne d'or, elle semblait

s'elever dans les airs pour la saisir. Au dessus de la

couronne etoit une table de pierre jaune, sur la

qu'elle etoient graves quelques emblemes, je les

expUquai par le secours de I'inscription que

j'appergus sur le tombeau, et par ceUe que j'avais

vue sur la poitrine de I'homme.

AT some distance from the shore a sumptuous

palace raised aloft its alabaster columns; its

different parts were joined by porticos of flame

colour. The entire edifice was of light and airy

architecture. As I approached the portals, I saw that

the front was decorated with the figure of a

butterfly. The doors stood open ... I entered. The

entire palace consisted of a single hall . . .

surrounded by a triple colonnade, each rank

composed of twenty-seven alabaster columns. In

the middle of the building stood the figure of a

man issuing from a tomb; his hand, holding up a

lance, struck the stone which previously confined

him. His loins were girt about with a green

garment; gold gleamed from its hem. On his breast

was a square tablet bearing several letters. Above

this figure hung a golden crown and the figure

seemed to lift itself into the air in order to seize the

crown. Above it was a yellow stone tablet bearing

several emblems which I explained by means of

the inscription I saw on the tomb and by the one I

had seen on the breast of the man.

p. 70

p. 71

Je restai dans cette salle appellee

le temps necessaire pour en contempler tous les

detours et j'en sortis bientot dans I'intention de me

rendre a travers une vaste plaine a une tour que j

apper9us a une assez grande distance.

I stayed in that hall which is called

the time need&l for contemplating all its aisles,

and soon I left it with the intention of crossing a

vast plain in order to reach a tower that I had

perceived at quite some distance.

p. 73

SECTION ELEVEN

APEINE j ' avois quitte les marches du palais, que NO sooner had I quitted the steps of the palace

j'apper9us voltiger devant moi un oiseau semblable when I saw fluttering in front of me a bird similar

a to

mais celui ci avoit deux ailes de papillon outre les this one, however, having two wings like a

siennes, une voix sortant d'un nuage m'ordonna de butterfly's besides its own. A voice issuing from a

le saisir et de I'attacher. Je m'elangai apres lui, il cloud commanded me to seize and to affix it and I

ne voloit pas mais il se servoit de ses ailes pour

courir avec la plus grande rapidite, je le poursuivis,

il fiiyoit devant moi et me fit plusieurs fois

parcouiir la plaine dans toute son etendue, Je le

suivis sans m'arreter, enfin apres neuf jours de

course je le contraignis d'entrer dans la tour que

j'avois vu de loin en sortant de

darted forth after it. It did not fly but used its wings

in order to run with the greatest rapidity. I pursued

it; it fled before me and made me cover the entire

plain several times. I followed it without pause.

Finally, after pursuing it for nine days, I forced it

to enter the tower which I had seen in the distance

as I was leaving

les murailles de cet edifice etoit de fer . . . trente

six pilUers de meme metal les soutenoit I'interieur

etoit de meme matiere, incruste d'acier brillant.

Les fondemens de la tour etoient construits de telle

maniere que sa hauteur etoit doublee sous terre. a

peine I'oiseau fut il entre dans cette enceinte qu'un

fi-oid glacial sembla s'emparer de lui il fit de vains

efforts pour mouvoir ses ailes

The walls of this edifice were of iron. Thirty-six

columns of the same metal supported it. The

interior was of the same material, incmsted with

shining steel. The foundations of the tower were so

constructed as to be twice as deep in the earth as

they were high above ground. The bird had barely

entered this enclosure when an icy cold seemed to

overcome it. In vain it

p. 74

engourdies. II s'agittoit encore, essayait de fiiir,

mais si foiblement que je I'atteignis avec la plus

grande facihte.

tried to move its numbed wings. It still fiuttered,

trying to flee, but so feebly that I reached it with

the greatest ease.

Je le saisis, et lui passant un clou d'acier

I seized the bird, and driving a steel nail

a travers les ailes je I'attachai sur le plancher de la through its wings, I affixed it to the floor of the

tour, a I'aide d'un marteau appelle tower with the aid of a hammer called

I

a peine avois-je fini que I'oiseau reprit de

nouvelles forces, il ne s'agitta plus, mais ses yeux

devinrent brillants comme des topazes j 'etois

occupe a I'examiner quand un grouppe place au

centre de la salle attira mon attention, il

representoit un bel homme dans la fleur de rage il

tenoit a la main une verge qu'entouraient deux

serpens entrelaces, et s'efforgait de s'ech^per des

Hardly had I finished when the bird acquired new

strength. It did not move, however, but its eyes

began to shine hke topaz. I was gazing at it when

my attention was attracted by a group in the center

of the hall. It showed a handsome man in the prime

of life. In his hand he held a staff about which two

serpents weie interlaced. The young man was

striving to escape a larger and moie powerful man

mains d'un autre homme grand et vigoureux, arme

d'une ceinture et d'un casque de fer sur le qu'el

flottoit une aigrette rouge; une epee etoit pres de

lui elle etoit appuyee sur un bouclier charge

d'hieroglyphes; I'homme arme tenoit dans ses

mains une forte chaine il en lioit les pieds et le

corps de I'adolescent qui cherchoit vainement a

fair son terrible adversaire; deux tables rouges

renfermaient des caracteres.

Je quittai, la tour et ouvrant une porte qui se

trouvoit entre deux pillers je me trouvai dans une

vaste salle.

who wore a girdle and a helmet of iron surmounted

by waving red plumes. Near him a sword lay on a

buckler covered with hieroglyphs. The armed man

held in his hand a heavy chain with which he

shackled the feet and body of the youth who tried

in vain to flee from his terrible adversary. Two red

tablets bore certain characters.

I departed from the tower, and opening a door

between two pillars I found myself in a vast hall.

p. 75

SECTION TWELVE

LA SALLE dans la qu'elle je venois d'entrer etoit

exactement ronde, elle ressembloit a I'interieur

d'une boule, composee d'une matiere dure et

diaphane comme le cristal — elle re9evoit du jour

par toutes ses parties. La partie inferieure etoit

posee sur un vaste bassin rempli de sable rouge,

une chaleur douce et egale regnoit dans cette

enceinte circulaire. Les sages nomment cette salle

le bassin de sable qui la soutient porte le nom de

je considerois avec etonnement ce globe de cristal

quand un phenomene nouveau exita mon

admiration: du plancher de la salle s'eleva une

vapeur douce, moite et safranee elle m'environna,

me souleva doucement et dans I'espace de trente

six jours me porta jusqu'a la partie superieure du

globe, apres ce temps la vapeur s'affaiblit je

descendis peu a peu enfin je me retrouvai sur le

plancher. ma robe changea de couleur, elle etoit

verte lorsque j'entrai dans la salle, elle devint alors

d'une couleur rouge eclatante. Par un effet

contraire le sable sur lequel

THE hall into which I had just entered was

perfectly round; it resembled the interior of a globe

composed of hard and transparent matter, as

crystal, so that the light entered from all sides. Its

lower part rested upon a vast basin filled with red

sand. A gentle and equable warmth reigned in this

circular enclosure. The sages call this hall

The basin of sand sustaining it is called

With astonishment I gazed around this crystal

globe when a new phenomenon excited my

admiration. From the floor of the hall ascended a

gentle vapor, moist and saffron yellow. It

enveloped me, raised me gently and within thirty-

six days bore me up to the upper part of the globe.

Thereafter the vapor thinned; little by little I

descended and finally found myself again on the

floor. My robe had changed its colour. It had been

green when I entered the hall, but now changed to

a brilliant red. A contrary effect had taken place in

the sand on which the globe rested. Gradually

p. 76

p. 77

reposait le globe, quitta sa couleur rouge et devint

noir par degres je demeurai encore trois jours dans

la salle apres la fin de mon ascension.

Apres ce temps j 'en sortis pour entrer dans une

vaste place environnee de colonnades et de

portiques dores au milieu de la place etoit un pied

d'estal de bronze, il supportoit un grouppe qui

presentoit I'image d'un homme grand et fort, sa

tete majestueuse etoit couverte d'un casque

couronne; a travers les mailles de son armure d'or,

sortoit un vetement bleu; il tenoit d'une main un

baton blanc, charge de caracteres, et tendoit I'autre

its red colour had been transformed into black.

After finishing my ascent I remained three more

days in that hall.

After that time I left it in order to enter a large

place surrounded by colonades and guilded

porticos . In the center of the place stood a bronze

pedestal supporting a group representing a large

strong man whose majestic head was covered with

a crowned helmet. A blue garment protruded

through the meshes of his golden armour. In one

hand he held a white staff bearing certain

characters, the other hand he extended toward a

a une belle femme; aucun vetement ne couvroit sa

compagne, un soleil brilloit sur son sein, sa main

droite supportoit trois globes joints par des

anneaux d'or; une couronne de fleurs rouges

ceignoit ses beaux cheveux, elle s'elan9oit dans les

airs et sembloit y elever avec elle le guerrier qui

I'accompagnoit; tous les deux etoientportes sur

des nuages autourde groupe, sur les chapiteaux de

quatre colonnes de marbre blanc, etoient posees

quatre statues de bronze; elles avoient des ailes et

paroissaient sonner de la trompette.

Je traversal la place, et montant un perron de

marbre qui se trouvoit devant moi, je vis avec

etonnement que je rentrois dans la salle des

thrones, (la premiere ovi je m'etois trouve en

arrivant au palais de la sagesse) I'autel triangulaire

etoit toujours au centre de cette salle mais I'oiseau,

I'autel et le flambeau etoient reunis et ne formoient

plus qu'un corps. Pres deux etoit pose un soleil

d'or, lepee que j'avois apporte de la salle de feu,

reposoit a quel que pas de la sur le coussin d'un

des thrones;

p. 78

je prie I'epee et frappant le soleil je le reduisis en

poussiere, je le touchai ensuite et chaque molecule

devint un soleil d'or semblable a celui que j'avois

brise. I'oeuvre est parfait s'ecria a I'instant une

voix forte et melodieuse, a ce cri les enfans de la

lumiere s 'empresserent de venir me joindre, les

portes de I'immortalite me furent ouvertes, le

nuage qui couvre les yeux des mortels, se dissipa,

JE VIS et les esprits qui president aux elemens, me

reconnurent pour leur maitre.

FIN

beautifiil woman. His companion wore no

garment,but a sun radiated from her breast. Her

right hand held three globes joined by golden

rings; a coronet of red flowers confined her

beautifiil hair. She sprang into the air and seemed

to lift with her the warrior who accompanied her;

both were home up by the clouds about the group.

On the capitals of four white marble columns were

set four bronze statues; they had wings and

appeared to sound trumpets.

I crossed the place, and mounting on a marble

platform which was before me, I noticed with

astonishment that I had re-entered the hall of

Thrones (the first in which I had found myself

when entering the Palace of Wisdom). The

triangular altar was still in the center of this hall

but the bird, the altar and the torch were joined and

formed a single body. Near them was a golden sun.

The sword which I had brought fi-om the hall of

fire lay a few paces distant on the cushion of one of

the

thrones; I took up the sword and struck the sun,

reducing it to dust. I then touched it and each

molecule became a golden sun like the one I had

broken. At that instant a loud and melodious voice

exclaimed, "The work is perfect!" Hearing this, the

children of light hastened to join me, the doors of

immortality were opened to me, and the cloud

which covers the eyes of mortals, was dissipated. I

SAW and the spirits which preside over the

elements knew me for their master.

FINIS

p. 79

i.

• « 4

Click to enlarge

p. 85

p. 84

p. 86 p. 87

NOTES AND COMMENTARIES

NrriATION into the Mysteries was defined by the

ancient philosophers as fife's supreme adventure and as

the greatest good that can be conferred upon the human

soul during its terrestrial sojourn. Plato, in the

Phaedms, writes thus of the supreme importance of

acceptance into the sacred Rites: "Likewise, in

consequence of this divine initiation, we become

spectators of entire, simple, immovable and blessed

visions in a pure light; and were, ourselves, pure and

immaculate and liberated from this surrounding

vestment which we denominated body, and to which we

are now bound as an oyster to its shell.'

St. Paul also refers to the "inner experience " by which

we come to KNOW. He says, "We speak of wisdom

among the perfect, not the wisdom of this world, nor of

the Archons (Rulers) of this world, but divine wisdom

in a mystery, secret, which none of the Archons of this

world know." An initiation is an extension of consciousness toward an appreciation of universal

realities. The mystical ceremonials of the pagans and early Christians were but the outward symbols of

inward processes. By obscure rites and pageantries the precious arcana of perfection was transmitted

Irom age to age. The profane were satisfied by the solemnity of the outward forms and rituals, but the

Adepts, those who had received the keys, applied the wisdom which was locked within the allegories to

perfecting their internal spiritual faculties. Origen, the most mystical of the

p. 88

anti-Nicean fathers, in his preface to St. John, admits the twofold nature of all theological revelations:

"To the literal minded [or exoterici] we teach the Gospel in the historic way, preaching Jesus Christ and

Him crucified; but to the proficient, fired with the love of Divine Wisdom [the esoterici] we impart the

Logos [the Word].

Perfection is not bestowed: it is achieved. Men do not become wise merely through the witnessing of

sacred dramas . . . rather, by the understanding of them. Symbolism is the language of divine truths, a

writing by means of which may be intimated things which it is unlawful to actually reveal. "For the

mystic symbols are well known to us who belong to the Brotherhood." (Plutarch). By initiation the mle

of works is established. The divine man and the divine in man are brought to completeness by works

alone. The adepts of the old schools were "wise Master Builders" with vision to see, with courage to

do, and wisdom to remain silent. "There is a secrecy and silence observed in all Mysteries," wrote

TertuUian, the creator of ecclesiastic Latinity.

During the ceremonials of initiation the neophyte was given the LAW. The great verities by which the

universe moves towards its inevitable identity with God were revealed. It remained for the Initiate to

apply this Law and through this application to achieve conscious immortality. There is a forking of the

ways of knowledge at which practice diverges from theory. A man may either ftilfill the Law and thus

by enlightened action come finally to perfection, or he may accept the word of the Law and, ignoring

the spirit of it, remain as he is . . . imperfect and unenlightened. He who receives the LOGOS and

abides in the spirit thereof gradually increases in wisdom. The Nazarean theurgists said of such a one

that "he had an oath." He was dedicated to the release of his inner part from the domination of his outer

senses and appetites. Says Aretaeus, "Until the soul is set free it works within the body and is obscured

by vapors and clay." By vapors is arcanely signified the appetites and excesses of the emotions which

are as substanceless as a mist, and by the clay is meant the unresponsiveness of the corporeal form.

To increase in wisdom is to increase in enlightenment, for by enlightenment is inferred the illumining

of the inner recesses of the reason by the light of the Logos — the spiritual sun. This development of the

ability to know by philosophic discipline is accompanied by extensions of realization and appreciation.

These extensions are the true growth of the soul which increases towards inclusiveness. Hence, in the

sacred writings, this expansion of the soul's sphere of action is called initiation. By initiation the

indwelling divinity verges towards its own cause, the eternal Good. The chambers of

p. 89

initiation are the "many mansions" through which the indwelling divinity must pass as through the

tortuous windings of the Cretan labyrinth. Along its course are many doors, through each of which it is

ushered into a larger and more luminous area of function and action. With each increase of our ability

to appreciate the magnitudes of the divine plan, we are said to be reborn. Rebirth is the passing out

fi'om an old condition into a new state, from an old limitation to a new extension. As we grow in

knowledge, our universe seems to enlarge with us, taking on the measure of our new constitution.

Wisdom releases.

The academies of the old Mysteries invited the wisest and best of humanity to depart from the mortal

shadow of worldhness and devote itself to those labors which are truly eternal. The perfection of Self is

the Great Work, the beginning and end of wisdom: the perfected Self is the perfect offering and the

consummation of the Great Work. He who is perfect is of the greatest use to others, the greatest good to

himself and the most acceptable offering to the Most High.

With the collapse of the old pagan world and the corruption of the early Christian Church, the

Mysteries ceased as great institutions. Their doctrines were lost, their priestcrafts were scattered, and

their temples fell to ruin. New theories, for the most part superficial and insufficient, took the place of

the earlier wisdom; and education, divorced from its spiritual part, laid the foundation for our present

chaos. But the wise remained true to the ancient Rites. Those who had received the arcana could not,

did not, forget. They gathered in secret, taught in secret and worshipped in secret. The temple fire

burned in the hearts of its initiates. The outer forms crumbled away; but the inner spirit, strengthened

by its participation in an everlasting truth, was immortal. Out of the darkness of a degenerate

civilization, across the desert of sterile centuries, and finally through the Red Sea of the Inquisition the

Mystics of the ancient wisdom carried triumphantly the Ark of their covenant.

The so-called Middle Ages were an era of fantastic symbofism. The Hermetists devised composite

monsters borrowed from the gods of Egypt; the Cabbalists illuminated vellum with curious figures,

seals, pentacles, and grotesque signatures of demons; the alchemists filled huge volumes with weird

formulas telling of the mystic properties of toads and dragon's blood. In the dark field of medieval

superstition there also grew and blossomed the Mystic Rose, to be finally choked out by the weeds of

bigotry. These were strange centuries when false faith had put wisdom to hazard. Yet who dares to

deny that the mystical traditions endured, and, clothed

p. 90

in the terms of Egyptian myths and chemistry, were still available to such as had eyes to perceive the

tortured truth?

Against the background of dogmatic ignorance and purposeless pedantry stands out sharply and clearly

the luminous personality of the Comte de St. -Germain. Master of the old wisdom, wise in forgotten

truths, proficient in all the curious arts of antiquity, leamed beyond any other man of the modem world,

the mysterious Comte personified in his own incredible achievements the metaphysical traditions of

fifty centuries. A thousand times the questions have been asked: where did St.-Germain secure his

astonishing knowledge of natural law? How did he perpetuate himself from century to century, defying

the natural corruption which brings prince, priest, and pauper alike to a common end? St.-Germain was

the mouthpiece and representative of the brotherhood of philosophers which had descended in an

unbroken line from the hierophants of Greece and Egypt. He had received the Logos. By his wisdom he

confounded the elders. The Ufe of this one man puts to naught the scholastic smugness of two thousand

years.

La Tres Sainte Trinosophie is supremely significant in that it sets forth the spiritual processes which

finally result in adeptship. It is the diary of the soul's coming of age. It may well be the actual record of

St.-Germain 's own acceptance into the mystical brotherhood of which he finally became the Grand

Master. As the purpose of the manuscript was the instruction of disciples already familiar with the

secret terminology, the whole account is set forth symbolically in fragments of ritual and allegory

derived from the ceremonials of the classical era. Though the first reading may serve only to perplex, a

deep and careful analysis of the text will gradually enlighten. Each will discover in the writing that

which he himself knows, he will interpret it according to that which he himself is, and he will apply it

according to that which he himself desires. Symbols are all things to all men, yet beneath the wide

diversity of interpretations of which they are susceptible is a wisdom simple and inevitable which can

be comprehended only by the truly wise. Opinions, theories, and beliefs fall away; at the root of every

emblem is a fact. Our manuscript is rich in these veiled facts and we are reminded by the author that no

part of it is without hidden significance.

La Tres Sainte Trinosophie is divided into twelve sections. Each is illuminated by an appropriate

design. The early sections seem to derive their inspiration from the neo-Egyptian ritual called the Rite

of Memphis, and the trials of the candidate are concerned directly with the four elements — earth, water,

fire, and air. The grand

p. 91

pattern for the whole document is the Zodiac, to the signs of which the twelve sections of the writing

are related. The Zodiac is the great soul cycle and the sun's passage through the zodiacal symbols is the

original from which the ancient priestcrafts derived the authority for their sacred circumambulations.

The ancients accepted the first sign of the zodiac as the beginning and the last sign as the end of all

mundane activity. Similarly, Aries typified the beginning of regeneration or the entrance of the soul

into light at the vemal equinox of the philosophic cycle, while Pisces signified the completion of the

sacred pilgrimage and the accomplishment of the Magnum Opus.

St.-Germain chiefly employs alchemical symbols in this book of The Threefold Wisdom. This in no

way infers that he is actually writing of chemical processes, for, as most of the great alchemists have

agreed, the manufacturing of material gold is the least part of their science. That St.-Germain' s

meaning may be clear and the correlations between the zodiacal signs and the alchemical processes

become evident, the following table will prove usefiil:

Aries

Calcination

Taums Congelation

Gemini Fixation

Cancer Dissolution

Leo Digestion

Virgo Distillation

Libra Sublimation

p. 92

Scorpio Separation or

Putrefaction

Sagittarius Incineration

Capricorn Fermentation

Aquarius Multiplication

Pisces Projection

Expulsion of the animal soul through heat. (Purification by the fire of

aspiration.)

The union of parts; the achievement of one-pointedness or purpose.

The condition of becoming firm, the fixing of the will.

To dissolve or to suspend in a fluid state; the universalizing of the

personality.

To soften by heat and moisture; to perfect the mind in wisdom (heat)

and imagination (humidity).

The separation of the volatile principle from substance; the release of

the soul from its involvement in bodily limitation.

The refining of elemental bodies; the increasing of the vibratory

harmonies of the body.

The philosophic death; an artificial decay by which the spiritual and

material elements are separated from each other.

The buming away of dross; the soul fire comsumes the external body.

The conversion of organic susbtance into new compounds by a

ferment; the building of the Golden Man.

The process of increasing; adeptship.

The process of transmuting base substance into Gold; the perfection of

the Work; immortality; in the eastern tradition, Buddhahood.

The arrangement of these symbols and processes differs in minor degree among the various writers, but

the principle is always the same — the tran mutation of the not-Self into the Self; the tincturing of the

outer Ufe with the inner grace; the projection of soul upon its physical environment; the sublimation of

evil into good; the multiplication of beauty, love, and truth until finally the powder of projection

(wisdom) shall tincture the whole world. The alchemists tell us that a minute particle of the "Red Lion"

can transmute into the purest gold a hundred thousand times its own weight. Wisdom — and wisdom

alone — can accomplish this, for one wise man can perfect the ages, and a little truth will in time so

greatly increase that the universe may not contain it.

A ritual not dissimilar to that contained in the present writing is set forth in the Popul Vuh, the sacred

book of the Quichi Indians of Cential America. The neophyte, in his quest for wisdom, passes in

succession through twelve tests: He crosses a river of blood (Aries) then a river of mud (Taurus), he

detects a subterfuge (Gemini), he enters the house of darkness (Cancer), then the house of spears (Leo),

the house of cold (Virgo), the house of tigers (Libra), the house of fire (Scorpio), and the house of bats

(Sagittarius) where he dies (incineration). The picture at the head of the ninth section of St.Germain's

book depicts death. The body of the Indian neophyte is bumed on a scaffold (Capricorn), the ashes

scattered on the river (Aquarius), the ashes turn into a man-fish (Pisces), in which form the initiate,

who has completed the cycle, destroys the evil genius who was his adversary through the initiatory

ritual. The twelve

p. 93

[paragraph continues] Princes of Xibalba who are the Keepers of the Mysteries are of course the zodiacal gods.

As we follow St.-Germain into the lava beds of Vesuvius we indeed "tread upon the threshold of

Persephone." We follow him in his soul quest for truth. Now we read only the symbols and we

understand only in part, but ultimately we must achieve as he achieved and face the universal course

with the same high courage that pressed him on to mastership. His symbols are from the Book of Life,

and although we do not see in daily incident and happening the tests of which he writes, still each in his

own sphere of experience faces the same hazards herein defined. We wander in the caverns of

uncertainty; the ghostly forms of doubt harass us; fear steals away our strength, selfishness our vision,

and ignorance our courage. But we are all alchemists in the laboratory of life: each is distilling the

elixir of experience. In due time each shall have accomplished the perfection of this mysterious

alchemical fluid, and with it shall tincture his world and himself. Upon the base metals of this present

age he shall sprinkle the magical powder which his soul has discovered; the ages of Iron, of Silver, of

Copper, and of Lead shall vanish away, and the Golden Age of the philosophers shall shine forth.

INTERPRETATION OF FIGURES AND TEXT

SECTION I.

{Figure I, page 34) The highly decorated title page of the manuscript is a valuable key to the

interpretation of the entire work. De Givry describes the emblems thus: "This author's symbohsm is

Egyptianized in the fashion of the day. On the title page of the work * * * we find * * * the bird of

Hermes, a tree with golden fruit, and a vase in which the work is achieved, the primitive material under

the form of a ball embraced by two wings, and a luminous triangle containing the Divine Name." In

another place he adds: "The Hebrew name El is on the right with another divine name lower down

written in Arabic; the letters AB near the latter are indicative of the alphabet and represent the Word —

The Divine Word. On the left is a Hebrew inscription taken from the first verses of the Book of

Genesis: 'And the earth was without form, and void (HOhu-va-Bohu); and darkness was upon the face

of the deep. And the Spirit of God (Ruach Elohim) moved upon the face of the waters'."

The letters in the golden triangle do not form the sacred name Jehovah but, when decoded, yield the

cryptic words: "Breathe after this One." That the "soul breath" of the Cabbalists is to be inferred is

evident from the wings behind the hawk of Ra in the upper left comer. The second square from the top

at the right is of especial Freemasonic interest. A candidate for initiation into the Mysteries

p. 94

Stands in symbolic posture before an altar — with "one shoe off and one shoe on." The Hebrew letters

AL {EL) in the small circle are one of the ten Cabbalistic names of God signifying "God, the Creator,"

and is associated with the Sephira Chesed or mercy. The letters AB are the mystical signature of the

writer who was a "father" (abba) or master of the secret wisdom. The letters are also an abbreviation for

an alchemical process. The Arabic "divine name" really consists of Hebrew words written in Arabic

characters which read: "The Lord, the Most High, purifies." The Hebrew inscription in the lower left

comer, while unquestionably the second verse of the first chapter of Genesis, does not read as in the

Authorized Version. Characters have been changed and the sense altered to read in substance: "And the

earth shall be a desolate waste. There shall be lamenting, and hate and constemation shall be upon the

Face. And the Breath of El-him, because of the presence of the spirit, shall destroy those that have

departed from God."

Analysis of the Text.

In the opening chapter of his manuscript, St. -Germain ingeniously depicts the "relapsed" state of the

human soul. The dungeon of the Inquisition is the sphere of man's animal consciousness. The physical

world, dominated by inquisitional impulses, constitutes the soul's torture chamber and house of testing.

To the sage the material universe is the antechamber where gather those who are awaiting acceptance

into the sacred rites. When the Comte speaks of "this place of exile" and the "monarchs who rule" over

it, he refers to the illusionary universe and "the princes of this world." Here is the Prometheus myth, the

Titan bound to Caucasus for indiscretion, and Lucifer chained in the bottomless pit for pride.

Throughout the early pages is traceable the allegory of the Prodigal Son. First is depicted humanity's

heroic state during the Golden Age before sin and death came into the world. St. -Germain describes

himself as "showered with the blessings of heaven and surrounded by power such as the human mind

cannot conceive." The Comte then writes that "one moment destroyed everything." The mystery of the

Fall of Man has never been revealed to the profane. The great cyclic law which swept the hosts of fiery

Sparks into the abyss is known only to the elect. In the darkness of chaos the rebel spirits established

their world. They built the cosmos and were locked within each of the material elements which they

had willed into being. When the lower earth had been completed, the great Father desired to draw back

into Himself His prodigal creation. To accomplish this He caused to issue from His own being His

WORD — the Sotar or Messiah. Descending from the Abode of Light this heavenly Archon diminished

its splendor, and investing its glory in the dark robes of earth, took upon Itself the cross of the cycles.

To the Gnostics, the physical universe was compounded of the dregs of spirit. It was the abortion of

space. Material existence was nature's punishment for the rebellion of the angels. This was clearly set

forth in the initiatory rituals which taught that men were reborn in earthly bodies as punishment for sin.

Those who perfected themselves were bom no more, but, like Buddha at the Great Release, passed on

to the Nirvana of the wise — a birthless, deathless state. From the dun,

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geons of materiahty the sages released themselves through the practice of their esoteric rites. Perfected

in wisdom, these Initiates broke through the adamantine wall of the mortal sphere and emerged into the

UghtofGod.

The alchemical interpretation relates to the elementary spirits locked within the physical forms of the

elements. It should be noted that in his procedure through the initiatory trials, St. -Germain identifies

himself with the substance from which the Philosopher's Stone is to be formed. He is the alchemical

matter itself passing through twelve cycles of refinement. It thus becomes evident that the alchemists

recognized that their Great Work consisted of the transmutation of themselves. The earth (the dungeon)

is filled with the seed souls of precious metals; here they are locked awaiting Art and Wisdom. As gold

exists within every grain of sand but is incapable of manifesting itself unless stimulated by alchemical

processes, so the seeds of truth, beauty, and knowledge exist within the dark earth of man's animal

organism. The growth and perfection of these precious virtues is stimulated by discipline and in the

fiiUness of time all base impulses and purposes are transmuted into the gold of soul power.

SECTION II.

(Figure II, page 40) In his notes on the Trinosophia, de Givry concerns himself solely with the

alchemical import of the symbohsm of this figure. He says of the second plate that it "represents a man

gazing into a prophetic cup foming a magic mirror. The conjoined signs of the Sun and the Moon are

seen against the pedestal of the table; at the top of the figure a super-position of differently colored

rectangles indicates the phases of the Work; and the double sign of the lingam in a circle

emblematically recalls the Hermetic male and female. An inscription in Greek letters and made-up

characters gives a formula for the composition of Gold, or the Sun-King, by means of a mixture of gold

and silver regenerated by vital mercury; linked to the blue rectangle giving this formula is a lower red

rectangle inscribed with the rule for the furnace fire in Hebrew characters."

A careful analysis inclines us to suspect a more profound significance. The circle at the upper right,

though possibly phallic in its superficial sense, is actually an occult monogram or seal containing two

Greek letters. Translated these signify "the Light of God" or "the Light of Revelation." The rectangles

at the upper left are the elements. The arrangement is Oriental. The lower four are crowned by the

fifth — the quintessence, the mysterious ^Ether of the sages. The inscription in the upper panel describes

the quickening of the soul seed by the warmth of the eastern quarter. (Aries.) There is also reference to

the Breath which moves in the vessel, or upon the waters. The number 62 appears, accompanied by the

admonition to open the heavenly gate (clairvoyance) with the aid of the vessel or cup. Does the cup

(ark) contain the Water of Lethe, by partaking of which souls descending into generation lose all

memory of their heavenly origin? Or does it contain the Water of Mnemosyne which flows at the

gateway of wisdom and of which

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the adepts drink, the water of remembrance by which the soul remembers its own substance and origin?

The female figure is Isis in her role of Initiatrix. She is Nature, and her black skirt is the corporeal

world by which part of her body is concealed. The naked man is the neophyte. Unclothed he came into

the world and unclothed he must be bom again. Bereft of all adornment, stripped of all insignia of rank

and power, he may bring to the temple nothing that he has — only that which he is.

The table upheld by the Sun and Moon and at the base of which burns the everlasting fire, is the world.

The objects lying upon it, or held by Isis, are three of the suit symbols which appear upon Tarot cards.

The whole design, in fact, is not dissimilar to that major Tarot trump which is called Le Bateleur, the

Juggler. The cup is the symbol of water, the spearhead of fire and the wand of air. Fire, air, and water

are the symbols of the great Magical Agent. Their names in Hebrew are Chamah, Ruach, and Majim,

and by the Cabbala the first letter of each of these words — Ch, R, and M — constitute Chiram, known to

Freemasons as Hiram. This is the invisible essence which is the father of the four elements, and

designates itself Chiram Telat Mechasot — Chiram the Universal Agent, one in essence, three in aspect,

in which is hidden the wisdom of the whole world.

The Hebrew characters in the panel above the head of Isis are translated: "On account of distress they

shall cling to the Bestower," which means that those (the wise) who have become wearied with

worldliness shall tum to wisdom, the bestower of all good things.

Analysis of the Text.

The account of the initiatory ritual now begins. The disciple has waited the appointed time in the dark

material universe which is the womb of the Mysteries. The process of philosophical birth proceeds

according to the ancient and immutable law. The neophyte, veiled and bearing the Golden Bough (the

mistletoe), advances toward the iron altar.

The choice of Vesuvius as the scene for the initiation is exceedingly appropriate. The vent of the

volcano leads downward into the subterranean strata of the earth where dwell the subterranean deities

who must be first propitiated. The volcano is also the symbol of the alchemical furnace. The veil

signifies that the neophyte has reached the state of the mystae — one who perceives through a veil, or, in

the Christian Mysteries, "as through a glass darkly." Pliny refers to the mistletoe as the "all-healer." It

was presumably the Golden Bough given to ^neas as a passport to the infernal regions. Sir James

Frazer thus comments upon the initiatory ceremony as set forth by Virgil:

"If the mistletoe, as a yellow withered bough in the sad autumn woods, was conceived to contain the

seed of fire, what better companion could a forlorn wanderer in the nether shades take with him than a

bough that would be a lamp to his feet as well as a rod and stalf to his hands? Armed with it he might

boldly confront

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the dreadfial spectres that would cross his path on his adventurous joumey. Hence when ^neas,

emerging from the forest, comes to the banks of Styx, winding slow with sluggish stream through the

infemal marsh, and the surly ferryman refuses him passage in his boat, he has but to draw the Golden

Bough fi-om his bosom and hold it up, and straightway the blusterer quails at the sight and meekly

receives the hero into his crazy bark, which sinks deep in the water under the unusual weight of the

living man. "

Mistletoe is a parasite, and as such symbolizes the heavenly man within the mortal body. The soul

grows from the body and in it, but is not of it, for as the tree takes its nourishment from the earth even

so the body receives its sustenance from material sources; but the mistletoe derives its vitality not from

the dark loam but from the tree and the air. The mistletoe is said to be luminous in the darkness, and

has been called the wise man's torch. Its luminosity is the light of the internal organs — the aura of the

brain. He who bears the branch announces his fitness to receive the initiation.

The neophyte lays the branch upon the iron altar; he gives himself to the law, assuming the

responsibilities of spiritual progress. The sacred Word is spoken. The hallowed Bough bursts into

flame: the sacrifice is accepted. The earth opens. Down through the Royal Arches as into a great abyss

passes the candidate. The mists clear, revealing a vast cavem — the dark mother from which all things

must come — similar in significance to Porphyry's cave of the nymphs. The long white robe is the

seamless garment of the Nazarene woven fi-om the endless thread of experience. The copper lamp is

enlightened love, without which no man may follow the narrow path of wisdom. Robed in purity,

illumined with compassion and understanding, the neophyte follows the black vaulted passage which

leads to immortafity.

After a great distance the passage ends in a square room from which lead four doors. This is the Hall of

Choosing. The doors signify the courses which the soul can pursue. The black door is the path of

asceticism and labor; the red door is that of faith; the blue door is that of purification, and the white

door is that of adept-ship and of the highest Mysteries. In the Bhagavad-Gita, Krishna describes these

paths and those who follow them, and reveals that the last is the highest and the most perfect.

The neophyte enters through the black door of asceticism and labor and is about to pass through the red

door of enlightened love when it closes upon him. He then turns to the door of purification and

sacrifice but this will not receive him. Then the star, the symbol of his essential dsemon or genius, darts

through the white door. Fate has decreed adeptship. The neophyte follows his star.

The alchemical significance of the account reveals that at the beginning of the Great Work the power of

choice is given to the operator, that he may decide the end to which his labor shall be directed. The

black door represents the making of material gold; the red door the Universal Medicine for the healing

of the nations;

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the blue door the EUxir of Life, and the white door the Philosopher's Stone. From the door which is

chosen we discover that aspect of the Great Work which our author contemplates.

SECTION in.

{Figure III, page 44) Two lions, one red and the other black, guard the Crown. The Crown is Kether,

the fountain of wisdom. The king of beasts symbolizes nobility and rulership. hi ancient times, figures

of lions adorned the thrones of princes. These animals were also guardians of gates, and in Egypt the

Sphinx, the man-headed lioness guarded the entrance to the House of the Mysteries.

The inscription upon the flank of the lion is inverted. An inverted symbol signifies a perverted power:

thus, nobility becomes tyranny and greatness leads to despotism. In the introduction to his writing, St.-

Germain warns his disciples of two adversaries which the neophyte must overcome. One he terms the

misuse of power and the other indiscretion. The black lion represents tyranny and the red lion, lust.

Those who would accomplish wisdom must overcome these animals if they would reach the Crown

which lies beyond. The black lion is the temptation of power — the impulse to build temporal empire in

a spiritual universe. The red lion is the temptation to possess. Its ministers in the human body are the

sense perceptions which would deflect the aspiring candidate from his holy course and lead him into

the fantastic sphere of appetite and desire. There can be no compromise with these monsters of

perversion.

With the vision there appears suspended the strung bow of the will and two lance -pointed arrows.

Quickly must the bow be drawn and to the heart of each beast a shaft be driven. "Kill out desire,"

decrees the eastem master. "Slay ambition," wrote the western sage. The clouds upon which the lions

stand signify the unsubstantiality of the world's pomp and circumstance, while in the clear sky above,

the golden Crown floats unsupported. Wisdom is a sufficient foundation for itself, but all other bodies

and conditions depend for their support upon the frail stuff "that dreams are made on."

The panel above the lions commands that man should bend the knee and worship the all-powerful God

who sends forth His love in winged splendor from the first angle of the world. (Aries.) It also informs

that the sixth sign, which is mighty and powerful, is the ending and completion of the ages. Virgo, the

sixth sign of the zodiac, is the symbol of service and renunciation by which the lions may be overcome.

He who gives up life for wisdom shall receive a fuller Ufe.

Beneath the lions is a panel containing Greek characters which mean: "Each must sprinkle himself with

his own wine from the mountain of Chios. He must drink to God before the wood. He must give

himself in exchange for that for which he yearns." These words are from an old ritual. Wood was the

symbol of Dionysius and it was in honor of this god of the wood and of the vine that the ritual of the

Communion was first established. To drink of one's own blood or to sprinkle oneself with his own

wine is to be immersed in or tinctured by the inner soul power.

p. 99

[paragraph continues] Fementation was the presence of Bacchus or the Ufe in the juice of the grape, and the

Greeks used the symbol of intoxication, as do the Sufis of Islam, to represent ecstacy. A man in an

ecstatic state was described by them as being one "intoxicated with God."

Analysis of the Text.

The first initiation is that of earth, represented by the black marble passage, ways in the subterranean

regions of the volcano. To pass this test the body must be subdued in all its parts and become a perfect

instrument of the enlightened will. The bodily atoms and molecules must be vibrated anew until there

is no part of the physical fabric which does not pulsate with spiritually directed energy.

The second mystery in the order of the Memphis Rite is that of water, and at the beginning of this

section the candidate finds himself standing on the shore of a vast underground lake. This is the sea of

ether which separates the two worlds. It is the humidic body of the earth, the sphere of generation. He

who would reach the invisible world must cross this sea, that is, become master of the generative

powers of nature. Led by the blazing star, the candidate throws himself into the midst of the waves.

With his lamp upon the crown of his head (the spirit fire lifted into the pineal gland) he struggles for

mastery over the currents of the etheric world. His strength fails, and he cries out to the Universal

Cause for help. A boat appears, in it seated the king of the earth with a golden crown upon his

forehead. But the boat is pointed back toward the shore fi-om which the neophyte has come. The

crowned man offers the kingdoms of the earth but the disciple of wisdom who has risen above these

things cannot be thus easily tempted. Strengthened by the courage of righteous decision and aided by

the invisible genii, the candidate fights his way to the distant shore. Before him rises the silvery wall of

the moon, the lady of the sea, whose dominion he has passed.

The fire initiation awaits him. Having mastered the vital principle of nature by which growth and

propagation are controlled, the candidate next faces ambition, the fire of pride and the flaming tyranny

of emotional excess. He beholds the lions, the fire symbols. The key to the course of action is revealed

by the hieroglyphics. The Uons, the writing and the wall dissolve. The path stretches out through the

sphere of etemal flame.

The alchemical aspect of the symbolism is one of purification or the passing of the elements of the

Stone through a bath. In this process of purification they pass from an earthy state through a vaporous

or watery condition, to a fiery or gaseous quality. The lunar humidity present in all bodies must be

dried out, which led the Greek philosophers to declare that "a dry soul is a wise one." The Platonists

interpreted this to mean that the mastery of the lunar principle brought to an end the reign of corruption

by which all bodies are finally dissolved. The moon rules physical generation or the perpetuation of

corruptible forms, but the sun has dominion over spiritual generation, the creation of incorraptible

bodies. Man is the progeny of fire (the sun), water (the moon), and air (the bird of Thoth). The

p. 100

temptation by the king with the golden crown suggests one of the most common difficulties of the

alchemical tradition. Those who attempted the art in most cases failed in their quest for wisdom

because they became fascinated with dreams of wealth. Material gold tempts the alchemist away from

his spiritual quest for enUghtenment and immortality.

SECTION IV.

(Figure TV, page 48) Upon an altar formed of the twelve whorls of a winged serpent twisted about a

spear rests the cup of Everlastingness. The device is derived from the cyclic serpent so often used in the

Rites of Serapis. The twelve coils of the snake are emblematic of the philosophic year and the spiral

course of the Ain through the zodiacal constellations. In the preparation of the Wise Man's Stone the

elements pass through twelve stages of augmentation. In each of these cycles the power of the matter is

intensified, a fact which is suggested by the increasing size of the serpent's spirals. The figure is also

reminiscent of what the sages termed the philosophic vortex — the natural form of the soul power in the

human body.

In Isis Unveiled, H. P. Blavatsky writes: "Before our globe had become egg-shaped or round it was a

long trail of cosmic dust or fire-mist, moving and writhing like a serpent. This, say the explanations,

was the Spirit of God moving on the Chaos until its breath had incubated cosmic matter and made it

assume the annular shape * * *". In the Chaldean Oracles the Universal Fire is described as moving

with a serpentine motion. The present symbol is the Universal Wisdom moving as a winged serpent

upon the surface of the primitive chaos — that is, the unregenerated body of the neophyte. The ritual of

the Sabazian Mysteries included the drawing of a live snake across the breast of the candidate. In the

drawing, the serpent is twisted around the backbone — the spear — and forms an appropriate support for

the cup of immortahty.

Beside this strange altar stands the jewelled sword. Faintly traceable upon its sheath are the ancient

symbols of the eye, the heart, and the mouth, symbolic of the three persons of the Creative Triad — life

in the heart, light in the eye, breath in the mouth. The life, the light, and the breath are the sources of all

things and from their union in the cruciform symbol the candidate must fashion the weapon for his

protection against the elemental darkness. The cycle symbol must be overcome by wisdom. This is "the

sword of quick decision" with which the Oriental neophyte must cut low the snaky branches of the

world banyan tree, the emblem of the self-replenishing cycles and the law of rebirth. The serpent is the

spiral of evolution; the cup contains the shining Nirvanic sea into which the soul is finally merged; the

sword is the illumined will — ^the same sword which solves the enigma of Ufe's Gordian Knot by cutting

it with a single stroke.

The cryptic words on the upper panel carry out this thought. Translated, they are: "Reverence this

vessel (the ark or cup) of Everlastingness; offer freely of yourself a portion unto M (Mi or Jah,

Jehovah) and to the comer (or angle) in

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atonement." This is derived from the symbolism of the Chaldeans, who regarded the Universal Cause

as the Lord of the Angles.

Analysis of the Text.

The candidate enters upon the place of fire. A great sea of flames (the astral world) stretches out in

every direction, bubbling and seething with an infemal fiiry. The daemon orders the candidate to

advance. With his mind fixed upon Reality, the disciple obeys, only to discover that the fire has lost its

heat, and he walks unharmed into the midst of the conflagration. He finds himself in the Temple of

Sidereal Fire, in the midst of which is the greenish-gold form of a serpent with ruby eyes and di^ered

scales. The nature of the fire is clearly revealed, for we are told that one-half of it bums with a vivid

light, while the other half is shadowed and blackish. Here is the serpent of the astral light, which,

according to Eliphas Levi, is twined around every flower that grows in the garden of Kama, or desire.

The yogi in his meditation knows well the meaning of the House of Fire and the serpent which guards

it. Here the candidate discovers the significance of the Universal Fire-Spirit which, turned downward,

is the root of all evil, but if it be lifted up, draws all men to wisdom. The serpent-fire must be

overcome. The sword is at hand, and with it the candidate strikes at the brazen coils. Brass is the

composite metal symbolic of the body of man, before it is reduced by philosophy to its simple

elements.

The Lord of the Fire World is vanquished. The senses are controlled; the appetites are under the iron

dominion of the will. Anger, hate, and pride have been exiled from the soul. The three fires of illusion

have died out. The whole mirage of the astral light fades amidst a terrifying outburst of sound and

color. The candidate is lifted through the Arches of the underworld. He passes quickly through the

monsters that dwell on the boundaries of excess. The cmciform sword scatters the foul throng of

darkness. Upward and upward, through the numerous layers of the globe (the orbits of the interior

stars) the neophyte rises, after his three days (degrees) in the darkness of Hades. The stone is rolled

away, and at last, with a burst of glory, he rises into the Ught of day — the air sphere where dwells the

mind which must be conquered next.

The alchemical philosophy is evident. The circular space is a distilling vessel which stands in the midst

of the furnace flame. The serpent represents elements within the retort, and the candidate portrays other

elements which have the power to dissolve and corrode the serpent. The rising of the candidate upward

through the walls of the globe here signifies the vapors which, ascending through the long neck of the

distilling vessel, escape from the heated inferno below.

SECTION V.

{Figure V, page 50) The strange bird hovering above the altar fire is the sacred Ibis, symbol of Thoth,

the Egyptian god of wisdom and letters, and the patron of alchemy. It is the volatile philosophical

Mercury which can remain in a suspended state only "when in the midst of the flames." By the

philosophical Mercury we

p. 102

must understand the regenerated principle of intellect — mind rendered truly luminous by the flame of

inspiration. In its beak the bird carries a green branch, the acacia of Freemasonry — ^the symbol of

rebirth and immortality through spiritual enUghtermient. The black feet and wings signify the earth

principle, the silvery body the wa^er principle, the red head the fire principle, and the golden neck the

airy principle. The spiritual bodies of the elements are thus united in a philosophical creature, the bird

of the wise men — the phcenix.

Beside the bird and the altar is an elaborate candlestick, its base formed of twisted serpents. (Ida and

Pingala?) The upper end of the candlestick terminates in a lotus blossom from which rises a lighted

taper.This is the soul light, the inner radiance which reveals the secret of the bird. As man's extemal

existence is lighted by an extemal sun, by which he perceives all temporal concerns, so his intemal

existence is illuminated by the light of the soul, the radiance of which renders visible the workings of

the divine mind within.

The inscription beneath reads: "To the strong is given the burden." This refers to the qualifications for

adeptship. The great truths of life can be conferred only upon those who have been tested in the

essentials of character and understanding. In the panel above, the reader is instructed to "Kindle a fire

upon the high place, that the sacrifice may be borne upward to the Desired One." The symbolism is

borrowed fi^om the ceremonials of the old Jews. Upon the altar of burnt incense a fire was continually

buming. This is the fire of holy aspiration which consumes the base elements of the body and

transmutes them into soul qualities, symbolized by the incense fiimes, and these ascend as evidence of

the spiritual convenant between aspiring humanity and its Creator.

The panel to the right describes the ceremony which accompanies the building of the sacred fire. The

one on the left is part of a ritual, in substance as follows: "When the years of this existence are done,

and the soul, outbreathing at death, approaches the gate of immortality, may the bird bear it swiftly

away to the abode of the wise." In the Egyptian rites, the soul of the Initiate departed in the form of a

bird which is shown hovering over the couch on which the mummy lies. The soul-bird with the green

branch refers to the Messianic Mystery as set forth in the Book of the Dead. Wisdom confers

immortality upon the soul. Without wisdom, the soul must perish with the body. This is the secret of

the ritual of the Coming Forth by Day or the Breathing Out of the Ka.

Analysis of the Text.

The candidate next experienced the mystery of the airy or intellectual principle. He is raised out of the

subterranean depths by his guardian spirit and lifted into the higher atmosphere. Below him is the

desert. Special attention is called to triangular masses — the pyramids. An early manuscript in our

collection affirms that the Egyptians were able to manufacture the Philosopher's Stone without

artificial heat by burying the retort in the desert sand, which furnished the exact temperature for

alchemical experiments. The desert is here a symbol for the aridity

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and unproductivity of the unawakened consciousness. In the physical universe spiritual values languish,

yet in the midst of this mortal sphere stand the pyramids, supreme symbols of spiritual alchemy —

temples of initiation in the desert of waiting. It is significant that the atmosphere of Egypt is peculiarly

conducive to the perpetuation of ancient monuments of learning which, when moved from their old

footings, rapidly crumble away. Thus material Ufe, the desert, is a natural laboratory in which the

supreme chemistry is accomplished through suffering and aspiration.

The account of the rising and falling of the candidate through space relates to the alternations of the

substances in the retort by which they pass through a cycle of attenuation and precipitation, to be

finally drawn off through the neck of the vessel. Hermes uses this figure to set forth the mystery of

rebirth, the periodic altemation of the soul from a temporal to a sidereal condition, and its final

liberation through initiation. Reaching the upper extremity of the intellectual sphere, the candidate is

incapable of further function, and swoons.

Upon regaining consciousness he discovers himself to be invested with a starry garment, the same

spoken of by Apuleius in his Metamorphosis, and also that wom by the adepts of the Mithraic Rite. By

the starry garment is represented not only the auric body but the new universal aspect of being — the

sidereal consciousness bestowed by the experience of initiation. The candidate may return to the

narrowness of his physical environment, but he can never again reduce his consciousness to the

limitations of the material state. The starry body is his regenerated and illumined intellect.

The strange characters signifying the name of the bird with the green branch are decoded to mean "To

be given the Ufe" — that is, immortaUty. The name of the altar reads: "The Crown, Kether"and is

decoded, 'When shall be the gate of entrance." Together, the two phrases mean: "Immortality shall be

conferred at the gate of the House of Wisdom." The name of the torch is Light; but translated, the

characters read: "The dernier shall be hidden away and forgotten." This coin of the prophet should be

understood in the sense of the suit of Coins in the Tarot deck, for this suit represents the material body

over which the symbol has rulership. The statement may then read: "The body of the wise man shall be

concealed." This thought was faithfully followed by the old adepts. The tombs of the Initiates have

never been discovered; and in the famous Rosicrucian cemetery the resting places of the Brothers are

marked only by the Rose. During the initiation ceremonies, which took place in the invisible worlds,

the physical body of the neophyte was hidden in a secret place where no disturbing forces could reach

it while the soul was exploring the mysteries of Amenti. Body here also represents personality and the

whole personal sphere of life which must be cast aside and forgotten; also the personal ego which must

die or be buried that the Universal Self may be bom from its seed.

SECTION VI.

(Figure VI, page 54) The altar which our author describes as being composed of

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the four elements is triangular in shape. From this circumstance two sacred numbers are produced: the

square (4) plus the triangle (3) equals 7; and the four elements of the altar multiplied by the triangle

equals 12. From this the composition of the world is made apparent. Nature is a triangular arrangement

of four elements; and the divine world, of which the zodiac is a proper symbol, consists of these

elements multiplied three times, or in their three primary states. The altar is the human body; its

material parts — the square — are arranged in the spiritual order — a triangle. Upon the altar are the three

symbols from the previous diagram. They are so placed as to form a triangle, and we must understand

them as salt, sulphur and Mercury — ^body, spirit, and soul.

In the air above the altar is the cmx ansata, the symbol of generation and fecundity. This may be

considered as copper — the metal of Venus, and a symbol of the reproductive energy of the soul. Venus

is the Lucifer of the ancients, the Ught bearer, the star of self-knowledge. This symbol must remind the

sage that the power to multiply is common to both the intemal and extemal man. As bodies generate

bodies, so the inner body, the soul, generates the archetypes of personaUties. By alchemy, wisdom

perpetuates itself by applying to its own peculiar purposes the same laws by which forms are

perpetuated in the corporeal sphere.

The whole figure is a symbol of spiritual generation, the mystery of Melchisedek, who is his own father

and his own mother and is above the law. It sets forth perpetual reenergization by the use of the Stone.

It tells of the very power, which St. -Germain himself possessed, of continuing from century to century

by means of the subtle Elixir, the secret of which was known only to himself and his Masters. First, the

three parts of the composite man spirit, soul, and body — ^must be brought into equilibrium, and from

this equilibrium is bom the HomuncuH or Crystal Man. This Man is an immortally generating ego

capable of precipitating personaUties at will, yet itself unchanged by these personaUties and unlimited

by them. Instead of the soul living in the body and prisoned by its limitations, a new condition is

established: the body lives in the soul. To the adept, the physical form is but an instmment for the

expression of consciousness, intelUgence, and action — ^represented by the candle, the bird, and the

buming altar.

Analysis of the Text.

This part contains some of the most beautifiil symbohsm in the entire manuscript. The candidate,

having transcended the four elements, now continues into the sphere of higher causations, where he is

instmcted in the great Cabbalistic principles by which the universal integrity is preserved. The palace is

the archetypal sphere — Plato's world of Ideas. The simple geometric arrangement reveals the divine

harmony.

The doors of the archetypal world swing open and the Hierophant of the Order comes forth. It is He

who was called the Master of the Hidden House, the Initiator, the Keeper of the Keys of Thoth.

Alchemy is a religion of fire, as is also Zarathustrism. The Magus therefore wears the insignias of

Zoroaster and speaks in the

p. 105

language of the Fire Prophet. The names which the Hierophant gives to the bird, the torch and the altar

are the same as those given in the preceding section.

In company with the Initiator the candidate enters the immense temple, whose 360 columns leave no

doubt as to its identity with the universe. The altar already described, being the threefold cause of the

material sphere, is placed in the center of the great hall. The Hierophant next informs the disciple as to

the new names which have been bestowed upon the sacred objects. The bird is called Ampheercha,

which is interpreted to mean that a mother shall bear the likeness, or double. This is a reference to the

Immaculate Conception and to the Secret Doctrine as the mother of the adepts. The name for the altar

appears to be the word for priest but refers to the Initiator as the one through whom the disciple is bom

in the second or philosophic birth, a mystery more fully explained in the name of the torch. The hall is

called Sky (the firmament) but involves in the formation of its characters the Cabbalistic admonition:

"Worship the glory which is to come." The triangular altar is Athanor, a self- feeding digesting furnace

used by the alchemists, but the word may be divided into two. The first part then means immortality

and the second, the four quarters of the heavens.

The eighty-one Thrones placed within the palace of the Sky, each at the top of nine steps, are of great

significance. The Rosicrucian Mysteries consisted of nine lesser and three greater rites or degrees — a

system which may be traced directly to the Cabbala. Out of Kether, the universal Crown, issue the nine

Sephiroth and from each of these in turn issue nine others. Nine is the sacred number of Man, and in

the old Cabbala, Adam (ADM) is the numerical equivalent of r, 4, and 40 — ^numbers whose sum is 9.

The symbohsm of the nine is continued throughout mystical literature. The Eleusinian Mysteries were

given in nine noctumal ceremonials to represent the months of the prenatal epoch. By Cabbalistic

addition, eighty-one equals nine, and the Thrones signify the eighty -one branches growing upon the

great World Tree. The schools of the Lesser Mysteries are patterned from the universal harmony and

here we see set forth the arrangement of the secret Brotherhood.

The name for the great hall is repeated in the text at the point where the venerable members of the

school enter and take their seats. The disciple receives his philosophical name. He is called the Wise

Man and the words mean: "To be the Face or Manifestor of the Most High." The nine masters of the

lodge then bestow their gifts. The first gives a cube of gray earth representing the element of earth; the

second, three cylinders of black stone — the three phases of the Moon; the third, a rounded crystal —

Mercury; the fourth a crest of blue plumes — Venus; the fifth, a silver vase — the Sun; the sixth, a cluster

of grapes — ^Mars; the seventh, a bird — ^Jupiter; the eighth, a small altar — Saturn; and the ninth, a

torch — the fixed stars. For the understanding of the significance of these gifts, consider the following

fragments from the Pyamander of Hermes relative to the ascension of the soul through the nine spheres

and its return to the Lords of each of these spheres the gifts or limitations which are imposed by the

laws of generation:

p. 106

"After the lower nature has retumed to the brutishness (the elements) the higher struggles again to

regain its spiritual estate. It ascends the seven Rings upon which sit the Seven Governors and returns to

each their lower powers in this manner: Upon the first ring sits the Moon, and to it is retumed the

ability to increase and diminish. Upon the second ring sits Mercury, and to it are retumed

machinations, deceit, and craftiness. Upon the third ring sits Venus, and to it are retumed the lusts and

passions. Upon the fourth ring sits the Sun, and to this Lord are retumed ambitions. Upon the fifth ring

sits Mars, and to it are returned rashness and profane boldness. Upon the sixth ring sits Jupiter, and to it

are retumed the sense of accumulation and riches. And upon the seventh ring sits Saturn, at the Gate of

Chaos, and to it are retumed falsehood and evil plotting.

"Then, being naked of all the accumulations of the seven Rings, the soul comes to the Eighth Sphere,

namely, the ring of the fixed stars. Here, freed of all illusion, it dwells in the Light and sings praises to

the Father in a voice which only the pure of spirit may understand."

The name for the cube of gray earth relates to the mystery of the spiritual birth; that of the three black

cylinders is selflessness; that of the rounded crystal signifies the end of the ages or the cycles; that of

the blue plumes is Aquarius or the Leg of the Great Man; that of the silver vase is the birth of the spirit;

that of the grapes is regeneration; that of the bird, they who live in the light or truth; that of the altar,

the fruitage of virtue, or ultimate good; and that of the torch "the springing forth," the Egyptian Coming

Forth by Day — the completion, the ninth mystery. That the torch is really a symbol of the sphere of the

fixed stars and of the corresponding strata of the human soul is fiirther proved by the fact that the

manuscript tells us that it is composed of brilhant particles.

The mastery of the nine parts of the soul constitutes the completion of the Lesser Mysteries and the full

control of all bodily faculties, functions, and powers. The three Greater Mysteries lie beyond and are

still symbolized by the bird, the torch, and the light. The Lesser Mysteries are rituals of self control and

purification; the Greater Mysteries are rituals of creation. In nine processes man purifies himself, but

only to the few are given the keys of the threefold creative Mystery: the creation of form, the creation

of thought, and the creation of consciousness. Before leaving the chamber of initiation, the candidate

drinks of the Water of Life, the nectar of the gods, which is explained by the philosophers as

representing the blood of the Logos or the Sun — the divine energy which sustains the elect, and which

is constantly flowing in the Grail of the Mysteries. According to the Greeks, the gods partake of no

mortal food, but are nourished from the fountains of Eternal Good which spring up in the midst of the

worlds. Having given the secret sign to the adepts, the new Initiate departs from the chamber by the

right-hand path.

SECTION VII.

(Figure Vn, page 60) The key to the seventh plate is equilibrium, this being the

p. 107

virtue bestowed by the seventh sign of the zodiac. Libra, the Balance. Our author tells us that the

central motif, two small circles and a pendant cross, is a sacred seal. This may be interpreted as the

celestial sulphur and salt — the Sun and Moon. The suspended cross is the Lapis Philosophorum,

composed of the regenerated elements — salt (earth), sulphur (fire), Mercury (air), and Azoth the aether

(water of the sages). The Sun and Moon are the father and mother of the Philosopher's Stone. They

represent heaven and earth, fi-om which is generated the cross — man, the progeny of the two immortal

agents, spirit and matter. The cross also signifies the equilibrium of man suspended between his origin

and destiny. The arrangement of the figures indicates the adept in whom the union of all opposites has

been effected. The Initiate is the rational androgyne.

Surrounding the central part of the symbol are two circles of figures. The inner circle is composed of

cuneiform characters; the outer, of hieroglyphics derived from several ancient languages, arranged in a

manner entirely arbitrary, and undecipherable without the original key. The circle of cuneiform

characters must be interpreted by discovering the Hebrew equivalents of the arrow-pointed letters. The

text is apparently prophetic, and at first reading may seem to refer to the cosmic change which arises

Irom the tipping of the celestial Balance. In reality, however, the material deals strictly with changes

which are to take place in the soul of the Initiate. The cuneiformed-Hebrew reads as follows, probably

continuing fi-om the outer circle of hieroglyphic text:

"And is the outbreathing of Everlastingness. Know that place (sign or symbol, probably a zodiacal

constellation) to be the end (of the ages). The Leg (Aquarius, probably referring to the Aquarian Age or

cycle) is the beginning of the destmction." In the zodiacal cycle of adeptship, Aquarius is the symbol of

the final disintegration of the personality, for beyond it lies only Pisces, the Nirvana.

St.-Germain's manuscript also describes an axe, not shown in the illustration. This is the instrument of

separation, and would agree exactly with the interpretation of the figure. This whole device is

suspended between two pillars of green marble. These may well be the Jachin and Boaz of

Freemasonry. Students of the Cabbala will remember the third column which united these two, and

which, like the great seal in this figure, represented the adept whose perfected constitution united

wisdom and generation — the law and the prophets.

Analysis of the Text.

The Initiate again assumes the attributes of the alchemical substance from which the Universal Stone is

to be prepared. The entire section is devoted to processes of purification, consisting of three baths. As

the result of the first bath, the water in the steel vessel becomes discolored with the impurities given off

by the philosophical matter. In the second bath the elements of the Stone are impregnated with a

mysterious reddish liquid of an extremely corrosive quality. In the third bath the corrosive principle is

washed away. These three processes, which require

p. 108

sixteen days, completely purify the matter, which then passes on to its next augmentation.

From a mystical viewpoint, the vessel filled with crystal-clear water is the laver of purification placed

in the courtyard of the Tabemacle of the ancient Jews. The high priests who served the Lord must

cleanse themselves with the water from the laver before they could perform the sacred duties of their

office. The ceremony of baptism is but the outer symbol of the irmer truth. The Absolute Cause of all

things in its impersonal and utterly diffused condition was regarded as a vast ocean filling all space.

The Schamayim, which is the divine fiery water — the out-fiowing of the Word of God — descends from

the divine Presence. Dividing in the middle distance between spirit and matter, it becomes solar fire

and lunar water. This Schamayim was known to the alchemists as the Universal Mercury, and is called

Azoth, the measureless Spirit of Life. This spiritual, fiery, original water passes through Eden (which in

Hebrew means "vapor") and pours itself into four main rivers — the elements which are the conditions

of the Universal Mercury. This is the tincturing water by which the righteous are baptised. It is this

water, the Universal Mercury, the solvent of the sages, by which the spiritual b^tism is given. He who

is immersed in this water, or who receives the heavenly Schamayim into himself, becomes cleansed

and purified. This Schamayim contains within itself the twofold baptism. Its lunar power baptises with

water — ^the baptism given by John the Baptist; but its solar principle baptises with fire — the Messianic

b^tism.

The Initiates of the ancient Mysteries being lifted up into an apotheistic condition, received the divine

b^tism. They were immersed in God, and by this immersion they were washed clean of the black spot

of original sin, which, according to Mohammed, is in the heart of every mortal. The Schamayim of the

alchemists is the Shining Sea of the Buddhists, the boundless Nirvanic ocean, the water of space

constantly alight with God.

The silver axe with blue handle, attached to the column, is called the destroyer; but the translation is:

"Lift the voice to its fullness in chant. (Or song.)" The axe is the ancient symbol of the Initiated

Builders, the "hewers of wood." It is also the emblem of separation or division, and is an appropriate

figure to represent separation through purification.

The sign of Libra, which rules the seventh operation of the philosophical mystery, divides the lower

from the upper hemisphere of the zodiac. It is also the ancient sign of the Passover, a feast which

signified the passing over of life from a material to an immaterial condition by the alchemical b^tism.

The gross particles of the soul are washed away and Ufe is prepared for a supersubstantial existence.

SECTION VIII.

(Figure VIII, page 62) In the sky blazes the philosophical sun, within it the face of the Logos. Its rays

are concealed by the same clouds which must ever hide the Divine Light Irom the eyes of the profane.

The Lion is now crowned, its coronet

p. 109

having seven rays, symbolic of the seven energies of the will. This is no longer the despotic Uon of the

earlier illustration. Ambition has been transmuted into aspiration; and that impulse which,

unregenerated, lures men on to temporal destruction, is now the force which bestows courage upon

spiritual enterprise.

The bunch of grapes symbolizes illumination. A curious work on alchemy states that the grape has a

special affinity for gold, and that when vineyards are planted in areas where gold is abundant, the roots

of the vine absorb the minute particles of this precious metal and distribute them throughout its stalk,

leaves, and fruit. In alchemy, gold is the symbol of the Supreme Principle. The Nazarene likened His

disciples and Himself to a vine with its fruits. The grape cluster is an appropriate symbol for the school

of the adepts, for the Initiates grow together upon a single branch. Here also is a subtle allusion to the

blood, which carries within it the golden particles of the sun. The Uon and the grapes restate the old

formula wisdom and generation.

The panels of characters on either side of the brazier contain fragments from old rituals and mystery

texts. The one upon the right reads: "Kindle a light at the appointed time — the seventh hour of the

dawning. " This is followed by an obscure reference to the coming forth of five at the full sun (noon)

and the panel concludes with the admonition: "Dance in a circle and prophecy.-

The panel at the left is also descriptive of a ceremony: "Honor is paid to the Giver of life.- The Initiate

is admonished to sacrifice his Ka or soul. The number q appears, and the symbol of the ark or coffin in

which candidates are buried in the mystery. Then the full face of the sun appears, to represent

resurrection. There is an allusion to the gate in the heavens and the ascension of the Ka. With the aid of

Egyptian met^hysics, it is not difficult to decipher these symbols. The number

refers to the nine Lesser Mysteries associated with the box or coffm — ^the body. The sun-face is the

resurrection, and the whole panel describes the passage of the soul (Ka) through the invisible worlds as

set forth in the symbolism of the Pyramid Rites. This is appropriately placed in the eighth division of

the manuscript, inasmuch as the eighth sign of the zodiac is Scorpio and it was in a certain degree of

this sign that the high priest released the Ka of his disciple into the Amenti.

Analysis of the Text.

The eighth section of the manuscript is devoted largely to an understanding of the mystery of the

alchemical salt. Of this mystery of alchemy Eliphas Levi writes: "To separate the subtile from the gross

* * * is to liberate the soul from the prejudices and (from) all vice, which is accomplished by the use of

Philosophical Salt, that is to say. Wisdom; of Mercury, that is, personal skiU and application; finally, of

Sulphur, representing vital energy and fire of will. By these are we enabled to change into spiritual gold

things which are of all least precious, even the refuse of the earth." The Salt of the sages is wisdom

derived from experience, for experience is the salt of earthiness, or the material state, and a wise man is

the salt of the earth. In our manuscript the salt is called "the first among the regenerated." When the

p. 110

[paragraph continues] Initiate impregnates himself with salt, it is equivalent to saying that he makes wisdom

part of himself. Salt is a preservative of bodies, just as wisdom is a preservative of souls. Decay cannot

affect that one who has discovered the wise man's salt.

Leaving the circular apartment and the mass of white and shining salt, the Initiate approaches the edge

of a somber lake, and perceives at a distance a bridge called the strong to be subdued. The term also

signifies a reflector or a shadow suspended over the lake, and betokens the Rainbow Bridge, the Bifrost

of the Scandanavians — the bridge which leads from earth upward to Asgard, the terrestrial paradise

where dwell the twelve Ases, the Hierophants of the world.

The eighth sign of the zodiac is Scorpio, well represented by the dark and somber waters. The sign of

Scorpio was especially venerated by the Rosicrucians, who performed certain of their rituals only when

the sun was in this constellation. With great difficulty the Initiate forces his way through the morass of

Scorpio to reach the great temple of Sagittarius which looms in front and above.

SECTION IX.

{Figure IX, p. 66 ) As this section signifies Sagittarius it is most appropriate that the figure of a horse

should appear in the symbolism. The Trojan Horse, concealing within its body the army of conquering

Greeks, represents the occult force of this constellation by which the Trojans (the material world)

fighting to defend Helen (the lunar principle) were finally overcome. In astrology the ninth house,

which corresponds to Sagittarius, is the house of the sacerdotal class, the priesthood, or the Mysteries.

The hollow horse with the men inside is, therefore, the temple and its adepts.

In our figure, an unusual application is made of this symbolism. A corpse is falling from the horse.

Beyond the ninth degree the physical body cannot go, therefore it must here be cast off. Form can go

no further — the corpse is cast out of the temple.

The Arabic text at the top of the plate reads: 'That which is hidden shall be brought to view" or "the

hidden things (sins) are to be stripped off." The cuneiform consists of the following legend: "The gate

of the end (completion or conclusion) when the Leg or the Waterman tums in the circle (the equinox in

Aquarius)." In the boxlike frame is the following: "The select few — how many are there? Forty who in

brotherly love assemble together to the four quarters and the Bird. Here below (in the mortal sphere) to

be held (gathering or assembly) until in its place is the coming in the fourth quarter (Aquarius)." The

large characters MB refer to the alchemical process whereby the mortification and destruction of the

body is accomplished. The floriate letters are words to be completed by the addition of other letters.

When this has been done, the sentence reads: "Seek after the all-powerful Lord who is the guardian of

the Tree of Life." In the lower half of the figure a red -robed man is attempting to restore life to the

corpse. This is fire (or iron) striving to revivify the ashes, an alchemical emblem.

p. Ill

Analysis of the Text.

In the ninth step of the ritual, the Initiate comes face to face with the last great enemy — death, which

must be experienced, understood, and overcome. In the gloom of the great chamber with its ebon walls

he perceives the strange Horse of Troy. Here is putrefaction, the end of all ignorance and the gate of

life. The Initiate spends nine days in the contemplation of this mystery, and is about to take up some of

the foul and disintegrating substance lying piled in a corner, when he is warned by an invisible voice

that the time has not yet come.

In Sagittarius, the ninth sign of the zodiac, the theory of philosophy is perfected, for the world was

created in six days but Art is perfected in nine. Hermes writes thus: "But this multiplication (the

augmentation of the Philosopher's Stone) cannot be carried on ad infinitum, but it attains completeness

in the ninth rotation; for when this tincture has been rotated nine times it cannot be exalted any fiirther,

because it will not permit any further separation." After theory comes practice, after operation follows

use. The adept, realizing that he already possesses the power to tincture matter, would experiment with

the black decaying earth in the ninth chamber, but is prevented from so doing. He must yet receive the

three Greater Keys, for the power to accomplish transmutation is imperfect until spiritual vision reveals

the proper ends which the adept must accomplish.

After leaving the house of putrefaction the Initiate observes that his rohe changes color, becoming at

last a beautiful green. This is a direct allusion to the alchemical formula. We are told that during the

processes of digestion the alchemical substance changes color, which has given rise to its being called

the peacock because of its iridescence during one of the periods of its digestion. The various colored

garments worn by the several degrees of the ancient priestcrafts represented stages of spiritual

unfoldment. According to the same rule, in the preparation of the Wise Man's Stone the base substance

passes through a philosophical spectrum, turning from one color to another according to the end which

the operator desires to achieve.

The three cryptic words with which the section is concluded cause the last sentence to read: 'The name

of the hall is corruption. The name of the first lake is the beginning of corruption, and the name of the

second lake the end of corruption." The three cypher words, when connected, give the meaning:

"Corruption is the beginning of decay and corruption is followed by death." In the perfecting of the

Stone of the Wise Man it was discovered that it is impossible to unite the various elements into new

fundamental pattems until each has been reduced to its most simple and original condition. This

reduction, or the destroying of the personality of the elements, is the philosophical corruption which,

brought about by Art, destroys all the apparent differences in the alchemical materials, and renders

possible a perfect mingling of their principles to eventuate in the formation of the divine Stone.

Mystically, the philosophic death is the destruction of the numerous aspects of the personality, so that

from the soul and its extensions (the divine elements) may be formed the Diamond Soul of the Rose

Cross.

p. 112

SECTION X.

{Figure X, p. 70 ) A man robed in a green garment edged with gold, and bearing a lance, is arising

amidst vaporous clouds from an open sarcophogus. Above the human figure is suspended a golden

crown of hght. The whole symbolizes the annual rebirth of the sun in the tenth zodiacal sign — ^the

winter solstice in Capricorn. As the tenth month of the philosophic year, this hieroglyph sets forth the

first of the three Greater Mysteries which are presided over by the constellations of Capricorn,

Aquarius, and Pisces.

The drawing depicts the final victory of the spiritualized soul over the limitations of the bodily tomb.

The green garment reveals the adept to be clothed in his illumined soul, which is under the rulership of

Venus. The breastplate bears upon it cryptic letters which mean LIFE. The Initiate has achieved

immortality. For him the tomb will be forever empty. He has become one of that small band of the

enlightened "whom death has forgotten."

The Arabic characters on the lid of the coffin admonish the Elect that they should seize upon a certain

undesignated mystery "when the sixth sign or age is to be the breath." These words evidently refer to

the parts of a ritual. That which is to be seized upon is the "master secret of alchemy." The tomb is also

the burial place of the master of magic whose demier (or body) was hidden, according to an earher

figure. In one of the early Rosicmcian books is described a curious practice of the Brethren. They are

said to have periodically retired into their glass eggs, where they rested for a certain number of years,

after which they broke through the walls and emerged again. This allegory in turn alludes to the

periodic withdrawal of the Mysteries from society and their reappearance "after a certain time has

passed." From the inscription we are led to infer that the periods during which the secret Brotherhood

comes forth from its obscurity are regulated by the astronomical cycles of the zodiac. We may read

from the symbols, "When the sixth sign is the life-giver I will come forth."

The hieroglyphics in the panel at the top of the page are descriptive of the philosophic resurrection.

They read in substance: "To be freed with a shout of joy when the downpouring of the holy Spirit

descends. " There is also mention of a covenant of blood with the One at the time of the fourth quarter,

that is, the Waterman with the Face. (Aquarius.)

Analysis of the Text.

Death is followed by resurrection. Man must die many times in order that he may finally achieve

immortality. The butterfly which decorates the portals of the alabaster palace indicates clearly that the

mystery of rebirth is the subject of the tenth initiation. 'The three stages through which the butterfly

passes in its unfoldment correspond to the three degrees of the Mystery School, which degrees are

regarded as consummating the unfoldment of man by giving him emblematic wings by which he may

soar to the skies. Unregenerated man, ignorant and helpless,

p. 113

is symbolized by the stage between ovum and larva; the diciple, seeking truth and dwelling in

meditation, by the second stage from larva to pupa, at which time the insect enters its chrysalis (the

tomb of the Mysteries) ;the third stage from pupa to imago (wherein the perfect butterfly comes forth)

typifies the unfolded and enhghtened soul of the Initiate rising from the tomb of his baser nature." (See

my Encyclopedic Outline of Symbolical Philosophy.) The threefold mystery of the butterfly is further

suggested by the triple colonnade separated by aisles and passageways.

The cryptic name of the hail indicates that it symbolizes the hfe cycle and also the sphere of retribution.

Translated, it reads: "At the outpouring of the Almighty (the persecutors or the adversaries) shall be

shut up and overcome." Von Welling, in his Opus, describes how the rebel angels — the elementary

spirits — were locked in the dark elements of the material universe as punishment for their rebellion.

Alchemy, then, is the art of purifying these malcontents and restoring them to their original celestial

state.

SECTION XI.

(Figure XI, page 72) As the tenth illustration represents the final liberation of the Divine Man from his

physical limitations, so the eleventh depicts the attempt of the intellect to break away from bondage to

the animal soul. The powerful man with his girdle and helmet of iron, and his crest of red plumes, is the

Demiurgus or Regent of the physical world, the governor of the senses and appetites. He is attempting

to bind the spiritualized intellect to the rock of ignorance. The handsome youth bearing' the caduceus,

is the philosophized intellect. The mastery of thought, which makes the nund a servant of the spiritual

self, is the eleventh step of the old rite.

The whole phenomenal Universe against which the neophyte has stmggled through his eleven strange

and arduous adventures is personified in the red-plumed man. Here the world is making its last effort to

hold the escaping superman. The effort is vain. No chains forged of earth can restrain or bind the

Philosphical Mercury. We are told that in the alchemical processes this subtile essence can seep

through an iron vessel (the warrior) — or through glass or porcelain — and vanish, in spite of every effort

to capture its quintessence.

The eleventh figure contains numerous extraordinary and impressive hieroglyphics. The characters on

the shield include a crossed scythe and sceptre — signifying death and resurrection, or mortality and

sovereignty. There is also the axe-blade, the hieroglyph of the hewer, the builder, or the geometrician.

The smaller hieroglyphics mean egg and cave, and the lunar crescent may symbolize either a lunar

quarter or a gateway. These symbols unquestionably refer to steps in the initiatory drama.

The words in the panel at the top of the figure may be translated: "To be the sign of the Leg with

Everlastingness, to pour out and to be the herald of destruction." The thought is evidently prophetic,

referring to the destruction of the

p. 114

unrighteous in the sign of Aquarius, the constellation which rules the eleventh section of the work.

The writing below the figures is purely mystical: "It is given that the evil shall be trodden out in the

sixth portico." The soul, in its spiritual cycle of regeneration, crosses Irom the lower to the upper

hemisphere of the zodiac at the end of the sixth sign, Virgo, or the Virgin. This virgin is the mother of

the Messiahs. As physical generation begins in Aries, so the generation of the wise begins with the

Mother (the Mysteries) from whom they are bom into the celestial hemisphere. The old order cannot

proceed beyond the sixth gate, for the seventh is that of the new man or the second birth — a mystery

hinted at in our inscription.

Analysis of the Text.

The Initiate, departing irom the palace of the resurrection, sees fluttering before him the mysterious

bird Ampheercha which now, however, has the wings of the butterfly added to its own. The Cabbalistic

meaning of the bird's name is: "A mother shall bear the likeness." The intellectual energy of the

Hermetic Ibis is now perfected by soul power, represented by the diaphanous wings of the butterfly.

Apuleius created the Psyche myth as a method of setting forth the Hermetic Marriage or the union of

the reason with the perfected soul. This is the second Greater Mystery: the accomplishment of the

philosophic androgyne, in which the male and female principles of wisdom — ^represented by the Ibis

and the butterfly — are united in one creature.

The Initiate is told to seize and affix the symbolic bird. For nine days (degrees) the adept pursues the

bird, which he finally forces to enter the tower named corruption. The symbolism then continues,

clothed in alchemical terms. The tower is the vessel for further digestion, through which the elements

of the Stone must pass before their final perfection. The Initiate drives a steel nail through the wings of

the bird. The name of the nail is an admonishment to make haste and complete the operation. The bird

is therefore crucified to the wheel, as was the dove of Semiramis, or Ixion. The name of the hammer

means to come forth and be manifest, an allusion to the strength of will with which this final operation

must be accomplished.

Alchemically, the substance represented by the bird begins to gleam in the retort. The luminous quality

intimates that the soul power of the Stone is beginning to shine triumphantly and that the arduous

operations of the alchemist are about to be rewarded.

The Initiate departs. Having completed the eleventh Mystery and fixed the power of the soul-bird so

that it can no more depart from him, he passes out between two great pillars, and finds himself once

more in the Hall of Wisdom.

SECTION XII.

(Figure Xn, page 76) The pilgrimage of the adept is at last completed. In the heavens